Nothing's Impossible
by Ivoryyy
Summary: The boys are back at the Gallagher Academy for the summer. Of course, this means Zach and Cammie reunite, hoping to make this a summer that neither of them will ever forget. But what happens when on Zach's birthday, the group of friends play a Game that will ultimately alter the very fabrics of their reality? Welcome to Wonderland, where the price of the Game is your life.
1. Nothing's Impossible

"It's hot." Macey complained. We were sitting on the grass, watching as the day slowly trickled by.

"It's summer." Bex said, as though that explained everything. Which it kinda did. We were all in light clothes. But Macey of course had outdone herself so she had put on a lot of excess things.

I simply wore a blue halter-top and shorts. My flip flops were laying around somewhere near my feet. I pushed up my sunglasses 'cause they kept on sliding down as I read. They slipped down again so I brought them up to the top of my head. "Cam, how many times have you already read Twilight?" Liz asked. She adjusted her floppy sunhat so that it didn't block her vision of me.

I flipped a page. "So many times that I can recite every line of this chapter."

"We need to find you some new books." She said. Of course, she was the one who knew where every library in town was located.

"Nah, I'm fine with my current collection."

"You're impossible." Liz huffed.

"Oh please, nothing's impossible." I flipped the page again.

"Have you been reading Alice In Wonderland again?" Macey commented.

I smiled and that was answer enough.

"I'm gonna go get some drinks." Bex stood up then looked down at us. "Any requests?"

"Nope." I said. "just make sure there's ice in it." I was too busy to think about what I wanted to drink.

Once Bex left it was a bit quieter, but Macey and Liz still held up a small conversation. Until they both fell silent. I looked up from my book and craned my neck at them. "What?"

"Cammie, you said nothing's impossible right?" Liz said.

I frowned. "Yeah."

"What would you say to the Blackthorne students coming back?" She continued.

I scrambled to my feet straight away and so did they. Sure enough, boys were spilling through the front gates of the Gallagher Academy each of them hauling suitcases behind them. One boy caught my attention though. The one that was walking off to the side with a permanent smirk on his face. A boy that was also looking right my way.


	2. Twilight

Zach waved me over and it took me a moment to remember how to move my feet. He hung back as he waited for me and by the time I had jogged over to him the others were mostly in the building.

"Hey," I said once he was in hearing range. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We're here for vacation, Gallagher Girl. Is it not obvious?" He said.

I rolled my eyes. "I got that. Just… why?"

"Your mom invited us." He said. "So did you miss me?"

"Of course I did." I said sarcastically, although I kinda meant it at the same time.

He smirked. "I knew you did. I can honestly say I missed you." I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or if he really was telling the truth.

"So how long are you staying?" I asked.

"Well, we're here for the summer and for the next semester. Yes, we're here for half the school year again." He plowed on. "But for the holidays I'm here until next week. Same as you and your friends."

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to my summer house. I already asked your mom, she's cool with it. All I need is your permission and your friends'. Oh, and another thing, there will be no parents or teachers."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? May I ask where your summer house is?"

"That information is strictly confidential." He smirked. "Besides, the place it's in doesn't even exist on the map."

"Of course it doesn't. Well, I guess you have my permission. I'll come. Liz and Macey were with me…" I looked around me but they were gone. "But they disappeared. Bex went to get us some drinks, so I guess we'll find them later." I realized we were heading to the place where they had slept last time they came. "Why a week, by the way?"

"Why a week what?"

"Why are we staying here a week? Why not leave tomorrow or the day after?"

He smiled. "'Cause I have to get through my birthday first."

"Your birthday? Really? When is it?"

"Two days from now." He said, then frowned. "I think. The day after tomorrow."

"Cool. We'll have to make that special. Any requests for a gift?" I lifted my eyebrows.

"Nope. I haven't had a real birthday party in a while so I don't really know what I want."

"Are you serious?" I said, astounded. "I could write a whole list of the things I want for my birthday."

"Yeah, well, not me." His tone indicated that this conversation was over and that we should change the subject. "So, what book are you reading?"

I blushed. "Twilight."

"Again?" He laughed.

"How would you know if I've read it before?" I retorted.

"I would bet that pretty much every single girl in this school has read it at least once." He said.

"Oh my God, Cammie did you know the Blackthorne boys are…"Liz's voice trailed off once she saw Zach as she was approaching us. "Oh, Zach. Hi."

He grinned. "Hello, Liz."

Well I was glad for one thing; Liz had saved me from what would be an embarrassing conversation with the guy that always left me wondering what he was going to say next.

Bex and Macey rounded the corner and hardly took a second look at Zach. They both said hi though.

"Cam, they're gonna play a movie later on in the Great Hall, wanna go?" Bex said.

"Thank you, Rebecca, I'd love to come too." Zach answered before I could.

She ignored him. "So?"

"Which movie?" I asked.

"Eclipse, I think it was." She said.

Zach and I laughed and I said no, I'd pass. Because I had already seen it.

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**Hey guys, I hope you're enjoying this so far. I'll try to keep normalcy in this FanFic but yesterday I had this awesome idea for a direction I could go in with it, so I've decided to use that idea. I'll try to make it fun to read though.**

**REVIEW!**

**_Ivoryyy_**


	3. A Very Merry Unbirthday

**Okay, brace yourselves, because this is the chapter where all the normalcy vanishes. Where what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would.**

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"Oh my gosh, Bex!" I yelled. "Where is the cake?"

"Cammie, chill!" She walked into the room, running a brush through her already perfect hair. "Go finish your make up and I'll find it."

"No, I need to do this." I muttered.

I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Cam, I'll take care of it."

I sighed and went to the bathroom. I chose simple skin tone colours for the eyeshadow and used red lipstick almost the same colour as the dress. When Macey came in I swear she gasped. In a good way. I am not kidding. She put her hand to her heart and pretended to wipe away a tear. "My little Cammie as finally grown up."

I laughed and touched my hair lightly to see if would fall out of place from the complicated do I had. A few strands fell into my eyes but it was supposed to be that way.

"Cam! I found it! Are you ready yet? We should get going." Bex called.

She handed the cake to me, complimenting how 'beautiful' I looked. Liz also joined us giving me a similar comment. We all were beautiful to be honest. Well, my friends always are. Just tonight we were extra beautiful for Zach's birthday. We'd reserved the Great Hall for our little party where we'd have the cake. Then we'd leave for our other plans.

Once we opened the doors to the Great Hall we could see him with the boys gathered around him, all illuminated with candlelight. I was the first to start singing Happy Birthday but eventually everyone else was singing too.

"… Happy Birthday to you." Everyone started clapping with a few 'yays' here and there. I set the cake down on the table, seeing the candles flickering in everyone's pupils. "Now make a wish."

Zach glanced up at me for a second and smiled, then blew out the candle. We all clapped again and Macey picked up the knife and began cutting the cake, giving the first piece to Zach.

I sat beside him and I leaned my head against my palm. "So were you surprised at all?"

He grinned. "I knew something was up since Grant and Jonas were rushing me here like they had ants in their pants." They hear this. "But regardless of that, I was not expecting this."

I smiled and put my hand over his without feeling weird about it. "Good. I'm glad."

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Once we all finished we headed to the doors to go outside, but were greeted by something that completely ruined all our plans. Rain.

"No, no, no!" I ran up the windows as though being closer to it would somehow make it true. "This can't be happening!"

Zach came up behind me. "Gallagher Girl, it's ok." He said earnestly.

I covered my mouth with my hands. Tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes. I actually stomped my foot. "No, it's not! This was supposed to be perfect!" I lifted my gaze to the ceiling and closed my eyes. Taking a few deep breaths I tried to calm myself. Moaning and sobbing wasn't going to make his birthday any better.

"Cam, I'm sure we must have a game or something in the room." Liz offered.

I blinked rapidly to clear out any tears. "Yeah, sure." I turned to Zach to see if he approved with this plan.

He shrugged, looking indifferent. But then he always did. "Okay."

"Zach." I groaned. "Tell us if you really want to. It's your birthday, not ours."

He laughed and slung his arm around my shoulders. "Gallagher Girl, yes I want to. Let's go find a game to play and lets play it."

I rolled my eyes but leaned my head on his shoulder as we walked upstairs to our room.

Once we got there we started searching for something to play. Grant found Bex's underwear earning a smack on the head, Jonas found Liz's iPod that she'd lost yesterday, Macey found a nail polish she never knew she had and began to paint her nails, Liz found a textbook from two years ago, Bex found a soccer ball in _Macey's _closet, Zach found a box of old junk under a bed, and I found a photo with me and my dad.

I must have been standing there a while just looking at it because I didn't hear Zach come up to me to snap his fingers in front of my eyes. I looked up at him to find him studying the photo with a frown. "Is that your dad?"

I cleared my throat and put the photo away. "Yeah. It's the last photo I had taken with him." I looked under my bed and pulled out a black box. I opened the lid and found a game. "I found something!"

The others gathered around me. I looked at the other girls. "Have you played this?"

They all had scowls. None of them had even known we'd had it.

"Well, that's good. No one's played it so we're all beginners." We all sat down in the middle of the room and put the board in front of us.

"What do the instructions say?" Jonas asked.

I took out a single paper and read what it said. "Welcome to Wonderland." We all glanced at the box and noticed that it was based off of the cartoon Alice In Wonderland made in 1951. "First off all the players must have watched the cartoon included in the box." We all had watched it. "Next all of you must choose the character you would like to be."

We all chose who we wanted to be. I was Alice, Bex was the March Hare, Liz was Tweedle Dee (or Tweedle Dum), Macey was the Dodo Bird (unfortunately for her), Grant was the Mad Hatter, Jonas was Bill the Lizard Chimney Sweep, and Zach was the King of Hearts.

"Okay, the instructions say that now we have to…" My brow furrowed to see if I was reading this correctly. "Draw your nightmare on a slip of paper and put it in the middle of the board game." I glanced up at everyone. "You know, I'm not so sure about this game."

"Cammie, it's just a stupid game." Macey said, as though it were supposed to be reassuring. She took a paper and ripped it into small pieces. Liz got crayons. We all began drawing and I held a crayon between my fingers uncertainly. With a deep breath and drew my nightmare and folded it up, placing it in the middle of the board. I proceeded with the instructions. "The clock will strike 10. Let the games begin."

"We don't have a clock that chimes." Bex said. But then somewhere in the distance a clock started chiming. _1…2…_

The window all of a sudden burst open and a strong gust of wind swept up the little papers. _3…4…_ The door opened and shut wildly and I ran to close it but it kept bucking back and forth. "What's going on?"

"Woohoo!" Grant shouted lifting his fists in the air. "This is going to be awesome!" _5…6…_

He did not know how wrong he was. Just then the whole room tilted as though someone took it and literally turned it on its side. _7…8…_

We screamed and slid down the room, tumbling out the door and down the dark hallway. _9…10…_


	4. Follow The White Rabbit

We tumbled down the long hallway and a thought flickered through my mind, what if this wasn't the hallway anymore? It was too long and dark and once when my hand brushed against the wall it was uneven. Like it was rocky.

All of a sudden lights blinked on and my suspicions were proved correct. Except now we were in a long antique looking tunnel. We flashed past photo frames, a rocking chair, books, candles, and all of it was floating in midair. I couldn't see the end and then it was there. We slid across a floor and our feet bumped into a wall as we skidded to a halt. I slowly lifted my head and sat up. I felt fine, no damage was done. That's when I noticed everyone's clothing was changed according to his or her character. I was in a blue dress with a white apron over it, black shoes on my feet and a black headband in my loose hair. Zach was gaping at his clothes, which I must say, looked like something Santa Clause would wear.

But Grant had the loudest reaction. "Oh my God! I'm wearing tights!"

"Shut up you ass!" Macey yelled. "You're not a freaking bird!"

"Well you're not fat and ugly!" Liz shrieked.

We were gonna have a bit of a problem.

"Wait, guys, be quiet for a second." I got up with Zach's help. They all started to protest but I kept going. "Whining is not going to help anything. You chose the characters you wanted to be and now you're stuck with it. Now…" I looked around and bit my lip. "We have to find a way out."

"There is no way out." An unfamiliar voice said behind us. We all turned to face the most beautiful guy in the entire universe. I scolded myself inwardly. _Zach. Remember Zach! The gorgeous brown-haired green-eyed boy that's standing right next to you! You don't know this stranger!_

I tried to set an age for this guy but it was like anything I said was either too young or too old for him. He seemed ageless. So, instead, I just settled for saying that he looked between 18 and 21. He had black hair tipped with white, as though dipped in ice. His eyes were also dark and you couldn't tell where his pupils were.

"Who are you?" I was the one to break the ice.

He smirked at me almost like Zach did. Only Zach's made me feel ridiculous and melt inside, while this guy's were scary and made me want to hide. "You can call me Lance."

"And what do others call you?" Bex mused.

"Oh wouldn't you like to know." He turned his smirk on her.

"H-How do we get out of here?" Liz stammered.

"Out of here?" He repeated with a laugh. "You don't. You decided to play the game so now you must play it." He nodded towards me. "You should've listened to Alice here when she was uncertain about the game. Now the only way out is to get to the end."

"My name's Cammie." I snapped. "Not Alice."

He reached out his hand and stroked my cheek. I stumbled back into Zach. "Oh how I've missed you, Alice."

"Okay, dude, if we're supposed to win this game you might want to leave so we can get on with it." Macey said, hoping to break the awkward tension.

He looked at her. "I suppose I should. But don't you want to hear the rules?"

"We already know the rules." Grant said.

"That's what you think." Lance said grimly. "Here's one you haven't heard. Each one of you drew your nightmare so that means somewhere along the way, you will have to face it. There is no way around it, you must get through it. Just… try not to die." He advised. A few eyes widened. I really didn't want to play this game. "You die here you die in real life. When you've gotten through your nightmare you will find a door, go through it and it's done, you can keep going." He turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Macey cried out. "What's the point of this game?"

He grinned. "To follow the white rabbit of course." He started fading out but then returned. "Oh and another thing." His eyes landed on me. "The prize."

Zach followed his gaze and saw he was looking at me. "No!"

Lance chuckled. "Oh yes. You win, you keep her, I win, she stays in Wonderland forever."

"So we're supposed to just follow you?" Liz questioned.

He sighed, clearly fed up with so many questions and eager to start the game. "Find the white rabbit's home, that's where you'll find him. From there you will receive further instructions." He turned again and his features began to morph. His body grew smaller and smaller, the white hair spreading all over his body. Soon he was a tiny white rabbit. He hopped around us all and disappeared through a series of doors that hadn't been there 5 seconds ago. Behind him he left a small note.

Good luck.

You'll need it.

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**REVIEW! And tell me if you're enjoying it so far!**


	5. Racing Around Doors

"Well this should be easy. Not including the nightmare part." Grant said.

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure he's going to make this anything but easy." I said.

"No look at it this way," Grant amended. "We have all the time in the worl-"

"Time! Time! Who's got the time!" Bex exclaimed all of a sudden. We recognized it as one of the quotes from the movie. She slapped her hands over her mouth and then all of a sudden clocks appeared in every corner of the room. Some were strange looking, some overlapped the others, some went counter-clockwise, but they all said basically the same thing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." Bex apologized.

I walked up to one of the clocks and saw that it was counting down. "You know, I think this game just got a lot harder."

I felt Zach's presence beside me. "Why?"

I pointed to the clock in front of me. "We don't have unlimited time. We only have 7 hours and 2 minutes."

"Well then, let's get going people! What's the hold up?" Grant started motioning us to the door. "Cam should go first since she's Alice and all."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Coward."

"Hey, I'm not scared." He held up his hands.

"Sure you're not." I opened the first door which led to another smaller one which led to an even smaller one, and you get the idea. I think I opened like 6 doors before I crawled through the last one into a big, empty room. There were lots of stairs that led to different curtains at each level. I was curious to know what was behind them. Hopefully not a severed head or chained bodies_. Okay, maybe I'm not so curious to know anymore._

The door slid shut behind me and I waited for my friends to come out. I waited and waited but they never came.

"Don't worry about your friends, they're not behind that door. They've been placed in their spots throughout the game. Your job is to find them." I heard _his _voice behind me and my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. And not from fear.

I gulped and turned around calmly. "I thought I was supposed to find where you live."

He smirked and approached me. "That too."

"You're wasting my time. Leave."

"You could ask nicely." He ran his fingers up my arms and I shivered.

"Get your hands off me or I'll take them off for you."

His eyes glinted when he looked at me. "You think you can take me." He didn't say it like a question. More like he was mocking me. He leaned in till his lips were right at me ear. "You're wrong." He stepped closer and I didn't realize he could, then vanished into thin air.

I shook myself off, completely creeped out.

In the middle of the room there was a note. It said "Find the correct doorknob and give it quite a turn." I recognized the last part as yet another quote from the cartoon. I had to find a doorknob that talked. Great. Just perfect. Could this game get any weirder? Then I noticed in a smaller script it said. "PS. Here's where it gets complicated." What could that mean? As soon as the thought came through my head water spilled down from the ceiling and started flooding the room. Well, I guess that was a replacement for the ocean of tears, seeing as I wasn't going to start crying anytime soon.

I ran up a first staircase and turned the doorknob, it stayed silent. Same with the next. And the one after. As well as the next three. When I had two more left to check and was about to give up I turned a doorknob and it started to moan in my hand. I shrieked and almost fell off the steps. They had no railing and were half a metre wide. But I guess it wouldn't matter since the raging water would break my fall.

"I'm sorry!"

He scrunched up his nose/knob then said in his thick accent. "Quite all right, but you did give me quite a turn."

"Yeah, I know-"

"Rather good, what? Doorknob? Turn? Well, one good turn deserves another. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I have to get through since I'm following a white rabbit." I explained. "But yes, I know, you're locked and I'm too big."

"Quite right you are. Simply impassable."

"You mean impossible." I knew the script, so I guess I could play along.

"No, impassable. Nothing's impossible. Why don't you try the bottle on the table?"

I turned and a table appeared in the middle of the water. "Okay."

I hurried down and grabbed the bottle. I needed the key… But the key wasn't appearing. Maybe if I sipped from the bottle a bit…

I took one gulp and shrunk. The key appeared and I grinned. I snatched it up and ran up the steps. I drank down the rest of the liquid in the bottle and then was the perfect size. I was probably the height of a Barbie doll. The water was almost at the level I was standing at. My dress was soaked and my hair was sticking to my face. I stuck the key inside the doorknob and was swept away into an ocean.

I clambered into the bottle and the waves crashed against the glass. I watched all sorts of animals swim by but didn't call for help, knowing they wouldn't. So I sat there and waited for this short ride to be over.

Just then a waved crashed over, flipping the bottle and I slipped out. When the waves seeped away I realized I was on shore. And the animals were stepping all over me.

I was at the Caucus race. And Macey was singing on top of a rock with a small fire blazing beside her. "-_we find we are be-forward, backward, inward, outward, come and join the chase! Nothing could be drier than a jolly caucus-race. For backward..._I say! You'll never get dry that way!"

I looked up at her and her eyes widened. "Cammie!"

"Macey!" I tried to get up but feet pushed me back down. I scrambled up shoving away a lobster that was about to trample me.

I dodged a crow and stepped into the middle of the circle where no one was running. "Can you get down?"

"No, whenever I try it's like my feet freeze over. I can't." She continued singing with a frown. I could tell this was her character singing not her. If she had a say in it she wouldn't be at all.

"Try again." I touched the rock to see if I could climb up but frost covered it as soon as my fingers came in contact with it and rooted Macey to it.

"You see! Cammie you have to help me!" She pleaded. Her feet were covered in ice and slowly started spreading up her legs. "Cammie!"

"Okay, wait a minute! There's ice covering the rock, I can't get up."

"Please. I don't like heights." She trained her eyes at her feet so that she didn't have to see how high she was.

I glanced around and grabbed some rocks. I carved out footholds in the ice and made my way up. By the time I got to her she had ice up to her waist. I knocked on the ice. "It's firm."

"Well get it off!"

I hit a rock against it and she cried out. "No! Stop!"

I saw what I'd done and gasped. The ice had somehow mixed with _her _and when I'd hit the rock against her leg it took a chunk out of her leg too. I felt bile rise in my throat and I searched for another solution.

"The fire!" She shouted. "Use it!"

I grabbed it. The ice was to her chest now. I held one of the sticks right up against her and it started to melt. It didn't burn her, thankfully.

She almost collapsed once it melted away. We slid down the rock and both spotted a flash of white.

"The rabbit!"

We headed for the forest and a clock started chiming. 6 more hours left.

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**Omg, I'm sorry about this chap, it is probably the stupidest and most ridiculous thing I've ever written (other than basically all of Erotic Drama), but I had to write it. So what's done is done =P**

**_Ivoryyy_**


	6. That's Logic

Macey and I walked through the forest searching for another flash of white.

"I think we lost him." I said.

She made a sound of agreement but didn't say anything.

"So Macey, was that your nightmare?" I glanced over at her but she trained her eyes ahead.

"Yeah. It's stupid really. I when I was little I played with this boy named Max and he'd always make up these stories to freak me out. So once at night he said that there was a Frost Man who would come and freeze you to death. On that same night he spilled freezing cold water on me while I was sleeping and scared me to death. So basically, I'm freaked out of being turned into a popsicle."

I looked at her leg and saw that it had a gash from the rock. She was clearly limping but covering up the pain. "How bad does it hurt?"

One corner of her mouth twitched up. "Like someone bashed out a chunk of my leg."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. We didn't know what would happen." She looked at me. "Nothing's impossible here, right?"

My lips tightened into a fine line. "Right." I murmured reluctantly.

We meandered aimlessly through the trees and then came into a small clearing where light was spilling from an unseen source.

We both knew what was coming. "We're gonna find Liz here." Macey said.

"Yeah, but remember, we don't know if she's Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum, so I'm guessing it's our job to figure it out." We both glanced at the log in front of us. "We have to crawl through it."

She sighed and got on all fours. Slowly we made our way through and past her I could see two pairs of legs standing beside the other end, waiting for us. "This is ridiculous." Macey muttered.

"At least you don't have a dress on." I remarked. We came out and faced the two beings. I sighed, knowing my line. "Oh what peculiar little figurines. Tweedle Dee… And Tweedle Dum!"

"If you think we're wax-works, you ought to pay, you know!" Tweedle Dee piped up.

"Contrariwise, if you think we're alive you ought to speak to us!" The other added.

"That's logic!" They both said.

Macey leaned sideways to say to me quietly, "This is turning into the weirdest game ever."

"A game!" They both exclaimed. "How about, button button who's got the button?"

"Uh, no thank you." I said.

They both grabbed our hands. "Aye, the first thing in a visit is to say: _How do you do and shake hands, shake hands, shake hands. How do you do and shake hands and state your name and business. _That's manners."

"Oh, really?" I said. "Well my name is Cammie, and-"

"No you're not." Tweedle Dee said.

I smirked at Macey. "I think I just figured out which one is Liz." I pointed at Tweedle Dum who gave a clear sigh of relief, glad that we'd figured it out so quickly.

"Well then who am I?" I addressed Tweedle Dee.

"You're Alice. Don't you know that by now?"

We took Tweedle Dum by the arm and guided… him, her away.

"You guys have no idea how glad I am that you found me." Liz's voice came from Tweedle Dee's body. "I can stand Macey talking on and on about what the latest trend is, but he is a major pain. He kept on babbling about total nonsense for ages."

"Well, we've got you now. The next place we go to is the Flower Garden. In the cartoon it was supposed to be the Rabbit House next but I'm quite sure that Lance isn't going to make this easy for us."

"The Flower Garden it is." Liz agreed.

Macey and I glanced at one another. She took a deep breath. "Liz, when Cammie found me I had to face my nightmare first. I think you should tell us what yours is before we face it. You know, so that we're prepared."

Her eyes widened. "It won't matter. You can't prepare against my nightmare."

"Liz, please." I said.

Her eyes darted between us then she sighed. "Fine. Have you guys watched Lost?"

"The TV show?" The light around us grew brighter, it was almost unbearable.

"Yeah that. Remember the smoke monster?"

My heart beat picked up. "Please don't tell me…"

She gave a weak smile. "It's that."

Macey stopped all of a sudden and whirled around. "Guys, is it just me…" She walked away from us. "Or are we surrounded by mirrors."

We looked behind us and saw our reflections repeat hundreds of times over and over. "You have got to be kidding me."

"This is not cool. It's like those mirrors at funhouses where you have to find your way out." I shuddered. "I've always hated them."

"I have a theory." Liz said. "I think that somehow Lance picks up on our subconscious and then uses the things we hate or fear in the game. Just for perks."

"Yet another reason to hate him." I said. "Come on, we'd better hurry before-" Then we heard it. That sound like a train and the ticking sound. "Run!"

Thankfully we all remembered which direction to run. A couple of times we hit the mirrors and had to feel around for the way to go. The smoke was behind us, we couldn't turn back.

"What do we do!" I yelled. This row of mirrors was endless.

"I think I have an idea." Macey said. She stopped and Liz started screaming at her. "No don't! It'll kill us!"

I ran over to her and tried to calm her down. "Liz, we are not going to be killed. Liz, look at me. Calm down." I looked behind my shoulder to see Macey taking off her shoe. "Macey this is really not the time to tie your shoes!"

She ignored me and bashed it against the mirror in front of her. It didn't expose a wall like I'd thought it would. It made an abyss sort of thing, like there was an endless void. "You two go, I'll catch up to you later." She hopped through the hole before either Liz or me could stop her.

Liz cried out and ripped out of my arms. She jumped through the hole after Macey. I was about to go after her but I heard the noise and ran.

I sprinted past the mirrors without hearing it again. It was gone. It had followed Macey and Liz down the hole.

I burst into a clearing and before I could skid to a halt I went tumbling down a hole in the ground. I heard my dress rip and then hit the bottom. It was like going down the rabbit hole, only this time a real one. I groaned and sat up.

I got up. There were a few cracks in the area and I could tell I was underground. Probably underneath the flowers. Roots dangled down and if I reached high enough I could touch them.

I hugged myself, feeling completely at loss. I'd just had two of my friends by my side and lost them as quick as I'd found them. I sighed and then the roots started moving. I closed my mouth and they stopped. Then I realized what had happened. The cracks in the ground had gotten bigger, like the plant roots had pushed them apart.

I racked my brain, trying to figure out what to do. Then it hit me. I had to sing the song Golden Afternoon. I started out hesitantly at first to test it out. "_Little bread-and-butterflies kiss the tulips." _The cracks grew and more roots started showing. So I continued and got through almost the whole song once I decided the cracks were big enough. I jumped and grabbed onto a root, then worked my way up.

My hands gripped the side of the ground and I pushed myself up into the light. The flowers had all stopped moving and I wasn't going to sing again. I didn't want to see them talk.

I pushed my way through grass that towered over my head. I thought about how small the forest I'd just been in was. It seemed like it had been the right size, but now in a life size garden, I could tell just how tiny I was.

Distantly I could hear music and I looked into the sky, knowing already what I was about to see.

Puffs of smoke with the letters A, E, I, O, U floated above me in different colours. I was about to meet the caterpillar. None of my friends had chosen that character so I knew Lance was playing that role too.

Well, that was a good thing. I was going to give him a piece of my mind and find out where my friends were.

* * *

**I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, I really have to go. So review =)**

**Enjoy this right now, because I'm leaving for two weeks and I probably wont have internet so i wont be able to update! Sorry!**

**_~Ivoryyy_**


	7. Cats And Caterpillars

I pushed my way through the long stalks of grass, occasionally freaking out when I heard a sound that wasn't made by me. Hey, you'd be freaked out too. I was the size of a pea, so that noise could've been made by some gigantic ant or spider.

I climbed over a stick, which in this height was like a log, and entered a small clearing, expecting to find a blue caterpillar on a mushroom puffing smoke from a hookah. But there wasn't a caterpillar. There was smoke though.

I staggered back into something as the words 'WHO ARE YOU' hung in the air in pink, blue, and yellow. They didn't petter out like normal smoke would. They just bobbed there as though taunting me. I looked all around but the caterpillar was nowhere to be found. Damn.

Then I looked behind me at what I had bumped into. It was a mushroom. There was a sentence carved into it. _One side will make you grow taller and the other will make you grow shorter._

I plucked two pieces of the mushroom and took a tiny bite of the one in my right hand. I grew a bit. Okay, so the other would make me shorter. _Right, taller. Left, shorter._ I kept repeating that in my head over and over, committing it to memory.

I pushed through the grass again and entered a forest. I licked the piece of the mushroom that would make me taller and spurted up to my original size. "Much better."

I peered around the trees looking at the signs. They all pointed somewhere different. 'This way' one said. 'That way' another said. 'Over there' pointed another. I was reading all of them, knowing the Cheshire Cat would show up sooner or later.

"Lose something?" A voice said above me.

I looked at a tree branch where a fat cat was sitting, its tail swaying back and forth. "I know it's you Lance."

The cat smiled and swished its tail over its body so that it disappeared then the tail faded out. In its place a boy was left sitting on the branch, grinning down at me. "Smart girl."

"Where are my friends?" I snapped.

He hopped down and landed lightly in front of me. He waggled his finger at me. "Can't tell. That would be cheating. Oh but wait." He started circling me. "I could give you a hint instead, I suppose."

"I don't want a hint," I retorted. "I just want to know if my friends are safe or not."

He laughed menacingly. "If they were alive they would most definitely be anything _but _safe _here._"

"Wait, so are they alive or not?" I asked.

"Do you really want to know? Or would you rather have a hint. It would probably make the game a whole lot easier." He said.

"I want to know. What do I have to do for you to tell me?"

"Quit. Give up. Lose. Be mine for all eternity. The list is endless." He said. "It all just depends how you say it."

I crossed my arms. "No."

"Tough one, aren't you?" He commented. "I can see why that boy- Jack was it- likes you."

"It's Zach." I corrected him automatically.

"Sure. Like I care." He eyed me up and down. "You've changed quite a lot since you were here last. The last Alice was a bit… kinder. And whiney." He scrunched up his nose. "Absolutely unattractive. But you," He caressed my cheek. "You're stubborn and impatient and careful."

I frowned. Were those supposed to be compliments?

"And uncooperative." He added.

I smacked his hand away, the touch of his skin on mine bothered me. It was almost… pleasing. "What do I have to do to know if my friends are dead or alive?"

He smirked. "I think you know."

I groaned. What did he want? Me obviously. He-

Then it clicked.

Without moving my hands I leaned up to him and kissed him. Just as I was about to pull away his hands went around my waist, holding me to him. I felt my body respond even though I fought against it. First my hands pressed against his chest to push him away, but then they gripped his shirt to pull him closer.

_Zach! Remember Zach! _A voice screamed in my head. Just like that I broke away, gasping. "Well? The answer?" I panted.

He looked almost dazed, but unlike me, was breathing normally. "They're alive." Then he disappeared.

* * *

**Damn, sorry that was short. It's sort of a filler I guess =P**

**Btw, my ideas for nightmares are pretty, well, crappy, so if you have any creepy bone chilling ideas, feel free to tell me! lol**

**Sorry I havent written in a while, like i warned in one of my stories (think it was this one), i left for the vaca and had no internet. i planned a lot for my stories tho. If thats of any consolation =P**

**Thank you for all the amazing reviews! You guys make me smile so much!**

**_Ivoryyy_**


	8. Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk

I walked down the path that lead to the Mad Hatter. If everything went as the cartoon had, Bex and Grant would be their having their 'unbirthday'. I almost laughed, remembering that we were supposed to be celebrating Zach's birthday and instead were stuck in some ridiculous 'Wonderland'. From what I'd seen there was nothing wonderful about it.

In the distance I could hear the clock chiming but I'd lost count how much time I had left. Suddenly a clock was looming right in front of me and I had to stumble back. I had 4 hours left. Wait, what? How had two hours past so quickly? That wasn't even possible! _Oh, but nothing's impossible here, remember silly? _I almost rolled my eyes at myself for even thinking that.

A raven squawked above me but I couldn't see it. Strange. I didn't know they had normal animals here.

Suddenly I could hear the sound of singing and music and I knew my friends were close. I jogged up the lane and opened the small gate to see the tea party. Steam puffed out of many teapots. They were all different shapes and sizes, some even had four spouts. I sat down in a large red chair and peered through the smoke to see Bex and Grant dancing around with cups in their hands. I would've killed for a camera right then.

Then they noticed me and started hopping over the chairs. "No room! No room! No room!"

"But I thought there was plenty of room." I said.

"Ah but it's very rude to sit down without being invited." Bex said. Well the March Hare said.

"I'll say." Grant's silly lisp almost made me giggle. "Very very rude, indeed."

The dormouse's head popped out of one of the teapots. "Very very very rude indeed." Then it disappeared again.

I decided to apologize. "Oh, I'm very sorry but I did enjoy your singing and I-"

"You enjoyed our singing?" Bex interrupted.

"Oh, what a delightful child! Hah! I'm so excited, we never get compliments! You must have a cup of tea!" Grant exclaimed. I could swear that he was blushing.

"Oh no, no, no." I started waving my hands in front of me while Bex poured some into a cup. "Thank you, but I'm not here for tea."

"Oh?" Bex's long ears snapped together and the tea that was pouring out of the pot stopped. "Then what, would you care to explain, are you doing here?"

Grant clapped his hands together. "It must be her unbirthday!"

"It is?" He and Bex started prancing around me singing their song.

"_A very merry unbirthday to you, to you! A very merry unbirthday to-"_

"No! Stop it! Guys! I'm here for you!" I cut in.

They stopped. Grant all of a sudden had a huge mallet that he banged against the table. "I have an excellent idea! Let's change the subject."

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Bex asked.

_That's it! Answer the question then maybe they'll be normal again! _My subconscious said. _But there is no answer to that question! There was never an intended solution! _Another voice argued. "Riddles? There are quite a few answers that people have come up with, but not one is the correct answer. Some say because Poe wrote on both- That's it!" I had basically all of Poe's writing memorized in my head, one because I'm a spy so we remember everything we see, two because he is such an amazing writer. _Think of The Raven which lines would be the correct answer? "_Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -/On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore."

Nothing happened. They stared at me with blank expressions. I snapped my fingers in front of them. "Guys come on! Guys! Snap out of it!" They didn't move.

I heard footsteps behind me and spun around. Lance.

"Peculiar little figurines, don't you think?" He mocked.

"What have you done to my friends this time?" I snarled.

"They're around here. Somewhere." He added a taunting smirk with that last word. "Facing their nightmares while you're here chatting with me."

"Actually you're the one chatting with me." I corrected him. "I'd gladly be somewhere else."

He twirled a strand of my hair between his fingers. "You know, I cannot wait for your nightmare. Or Jack's. They could really both benefit me."

"Okay, whatever." I pushed past him but his fingers snaked around my wrist like a vise keeping me from going anywhere. "What did I do wrong? How was I supposed to answer the riddle?"

"You answered it as you should've, since there was no other way to answer it." He said.

"Is the game supposed to be this easy?" I said.

"Easy?" He laughed. "For any other person who was not like you, it would've been hard. You're different from the rest, though. To be honest, I really don't care about how you play the game, I'm just looking forward to the end." He started to disintegrate and the last thing he said before he vanished was. "I think your friends need help." Then I heard the screaming and ran.

No, I sprinted. I shoved the gate open and sprinted as fast as possible to Bex and Grant. The sign that said 'Tugley Wood' flitted past my vision and then I was tumbling down yet another hole. This one was really bumpy and slimy. I cringed at the wet sounds and horrible stench but followed the screaming.

"Bex!" I shouted. "Grant!"

"Over here!"

I followed their voices. I bumped into something and could tell it was Grant. My eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness so I had to go by with my other senses. "Grant?"

"Uh-huh." He breathed.

Something crawled over my foot and I shrieked. "Where's Bex?"

"She was right next to me, I think they may have moved her." I noticed he wasn't moving, almost caught in a strange position.

"Who's they?"

"You really don't want to know." He moaned.

Something else touched me and I jumped. "Can you move?"

"No. Tied up." He said. He started shaking around like brushing something off.

"What's your nightmare, Grant?" I had to feel all the way down his leg to find the knot around his ankles. My fingers started working with the rope.

"That's another thing you really don't want to know."

The ground I was standing on wasn't stable; it was like it was squirming underneath me.

"Grant, I need to know, that way we can prepare against it." I argued.

"It, uh, already happened." He said.

I shot up. "What are you talking about?"

"Cammie, I don't think you want to know where you are." I didn't like his voice. I didn't like it one bit. He was scared, and Grant was never scared. If he was then he never showed it.

"Grant… What am I standing on?" All my senses were hyperaware and I could hear a squelching sound.

I could hear him gulp. "Zombies."

That's what had been touching me. I was standing on the living dead. Bodies were everywhere and I couldn't see them. "Okay, okay," I started panicking and it got into my voice. "Okay." My fingers pulled at his knots but I couldn't undo them without seeing them. "We'll get you out, we will."

A light started flickering on the opposite side of this cave place and I wished it would go out. I could see them know. The bodies. They were crawling over eachother, slick with slime and maggots. Some weren't even full bodies. Right next to my foot a hand was gripping its way over a head toward my foot. Grant was making a weird noise and I told him to close his eyes. I started undoing the knots as the corpses touched me everywhere.

The light grew bright and I glanced over at where it was coming from. "Bex!" She was laying on a pile of zombies and a fire was burning beside her. The bodies were covered in a sheen of something almost yellow and I realized it was gasoline. "Oh my God. Grant hold on!" I ran over to my friend and began smacking her face. "Bex! Wake up! Bex!" Here eyes stayed shut. I began pulling her away and zombies reached out to touch her.

I let out a squeal when my foot slipped through one of the bodies' mouth, cracking the head in half. I shook it off and disgust almost rippled through me_. Ignore them, pretend they're pillows. PILLOWS? Are you freaking kidding me? Pretend ZOMBIES are fluffy comfortable PILLOWS? _I dragged Bex closer to Grant then placed her down. Soon enough I got Grant untied and that's when we were stuck.

"How do we get out?" I asked.

He looked around frantically, jumping as the corpses touched him. "I don't know. I don't see a hole."

A voice began singing and echoed in the air. "_And the momeraths outgrabe_." It was the Cheshire Cat's voice.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Grant blurted.

I put my hands on his shoulders feeling the tension. "Grant, calm down." His eyes flitted to our feet. "No, don't look there, look at me. Deep breathes. Come on. We're going to get out of here." Slowly he began to calm down. "Good."

A light went off in his head. "I know! 'Outgrabe'! I read somewhere that it came from the word grike so therefore leading to shrike which is where the word shriek originated from."

"Grant, I don't think anything here is going to start shrieking, and if it did, what would that even mean?" I said. Then we heard it.

A guttural sound, but still high pitched and piercing. We both ran to where it was coming from, the fire dangerously close. We began moving the bodies and I reached down to touch whatever was below them. I hit wood. "It's a door! A trapdoor! Get Bex!"

He pulled her over and I wrenched it open. "You go first, Cam."

I looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes."

I gave him one last uncertain glance and jumped in. I tumbled down a long tunnel and somehow ended up popping out onto the ground. I should've been going down, deeper into the earth, but instead came back on top. Odd.

Grant and Bex tumbled out and he looked dazed. "Woah, that was weird."

"Get used to it."

Bex started making sound and I clambered over. "Bex? Can you hear me?"

Her eyes opened but they couldn't focus on us. She grunted when we pulled her upright. "Bex?" She moaned then threw up.

"Oh man." She rasped.

I hugged her close, not caring that she'd just barfed. If I could handle being surrounded by zombies I could handle some vomit here and there. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell." She slumped against me. "Where are we?"

That's when we took in our surroundings. "In the Queen's maze."

* * *

**REVIEW!**

**Was it creepy? Please say it was, I tried hard =P**

**A few of you people mentioned The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith in your reviews and I forgot to say that that was my inspiration for this story. Well, also because I ADORE the cartoon Alice In Wonderland. So read the book if you like this story. It's A THOUSAND times better and scarier than mine. Yes, there is romance =P Read it, I loved it so much. It's the best book that isn't in a series. Seriously.**

**_Ivoryyy_**


	9. Painting The Roses Red

We stood up, Bex a little shaky on her feet.

"Do you think you'll be okay?" I asked her. "Maybe we should rest a bit."

A clock chimed. 3 hours left.

She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "No, I'll be fine. We should get going." I gave her an uncertain look and she rolled her eyes. "Come on."

We started walking but something splattered all over us. Red paint. Well, we already all looked like crap and smelled of dead people, so I guess a little paint here and there isn't the end of the world.

We heard the cards singing about painting the roses read over the tall shrubs. "Do we help?" I asked.

Bex shrugged. "Guess so."

We walked till we could find an entrance and saw the cards dancing around with buckets of red paint swinging from their hands.

I walked up to one of them. "_Oh, pardon me, but mister Three, why must you paint them red? _ "

They all exchanged a glance, shocked to find a human girl. "Huh? Oh! Well, the fact is, miss: we planted the white roses by mistake. And, _the queen, she likes them red. If she saw what we said, she'd raise a fuss and each of us would quickly lose his head._ "

"Goodness!" I gushed.

they all started shaking from fear. "_Since this is the thought we dread, we're painting the roses red!" _Then began painting again.

"Oh dear! Then let me help you!" I took three brushes from a bucket (weird, did they know we were coming?) and passed them out to my other friends. "_Painting the roses red..._ "

"_We're painting the roses red. Don't tell the queen what you have seen, or say that's what we said, what, we're painting the roses red..._ "

"_Yes, painting the roses red... _"

"_Not pink, not green... _"

"_Not aquamarine..." _

"_We're painting the roses red!"_

"The Queen!" One exclaimed and all hell broke loose. They scurried around, throwing their ladder away along with the paintbrushes and buckets. One bucket ended up on a card's head so when he spoke it echoed in a creepy way.

We all got down on the grassy floor as card shuffled in, whistling and stomping around us.

"Cards halt! Count off!"

They all jumped into two neat lines. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Jack."

I peeked up and saw Lance. He was wearing his usual smirk, walking to the front of the line. While watching me he said. "Her imperial highness, her grace, her excellency, her royal majesty, the Queen of Hearts." The Queen, in her huge dress strolled out, followed by Zach (thankfully who was his normal size, not a gnome). Lance cast him a look. "And the King."

Zach caught my eye and a look of relief washed over him. He pulled a smile and didn't avert his gaze.

The Queen noticed something and stomped over to a tree. "Hum... Who's been painting my roses red? Who's been painting my roses red? Who dares to taint, with vulgar paint, the royal flower bed? For painting my roses red, someone will loose his head!"

The Three couldn't take it. "Oh no! Please your majesty, it's all his fault!"

The Two said. "Not me your grace! The Ace, the Ace!"

She turned on the Ace. "You?"

He shook his head frantically. "No! Two!"

"The Two you say?"

"Not me! The Three!" When he said 'Three' it sounded more like 'tree'.

"That's enough!" She shouted. "Off with their heads!"

The cards beside us were dragged away, leaving Bex, Grant, and me. The rest started singing joyfully. "_They're going to loose their heads, for painting the roses red, it serves them right, they planted white, the roses should be red. Oh, they're going to loose their head..."_

"Silence!" The Queen yelled.

I kept silent, even though in the cartoon, Alice was supposed to stammer out a line.

She turned on us. "And who is this?"

Zach walked over. "Why, it's Alice. And… The Hatter with the March Hare."

She glanced between us two. "You two have met?"

"Well, uh, yes, your majesty-" I stuttered.

"Off with their heads!" She ordered.

My eyes widened.

Lance stepped in just as the cards were going to drag us away. "But consider, couldn't she have a trial first?"

"A trial?" She questioned.

"Just a little one." He held his fingers an inch apart.

She huffed, considering it. "All right. Arrest her for seduction!"

Well, that's a line I'd heard from the movie not the cartoon. Strange.

Red metal cuffs clicked around my wrists and Zach's.

"Thanks a lot." I said. "They all think I seduced you."

He smirked. "At least you're not alone."

"I don't think it's possible to seduce yourself." I said.

He bumped my arm. "You know what I mean. Besides," He glanced over his shoulder. "I don't like that Lance guy. Better have you go straight to trial rather than play croquet and have him get you into something worse."

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, about Lance, he, uh-" We entered the courtroom and they ordered us to stop talking.

Bex and Grant were nowhere to be found when the trial started. Instead of Zach standing beside the Queen, Lance was. His eyes were fixed on me and Zach noticed. I squirmed and looked away from him. He started reading from a long scroll. "Your majesty, members of the jury, loyal subjects. The prisoners at bar are charged with deception and seduction willfully-"

I couldn't help the urge to butt in. "But-"

Two long spears shut in an X in front of me and Zach.

"-and with malice aforethought, teasing, tormenting, and otherwise annoying our beloved-"

"Don't mind all that!" The Queen interrupted. "Get to the part where I lose my temper."

Lance went all the way to the bottom of the scroll. "Thereby causing the Queen to lose her temper."

She smiled and leaned towards us, even though she was much higher than us. "Are you ready for your sentence?"

Zach and I both said. "Yes, your Majesty."

"Off with their-!" She started.

"Consider, we called no witnesses. Couldn't we hear maybe on or two?" Lance suggested.

"Oh, very well, but get on with it." She grumbled.

"First witness!" He called. Bex was brought in. "What do you know about this unfortunate affair?"

"Nothing." She said. _What?_

"Nothing whatever?"

"Nothing whatever!"

"That's very important!" The Queen exclaimed. "Jury, write that down!"

"Next witness!"

A teapot was placed in front of the Queen. She opened it and started to yell. "Well-!"

Everyone shushed her.

"What have you to say about this?" She whispered this time, the teapot turning as though listening.

The Dormouse popped out. "_Twinkle, twinkle, little bat. How I wonder..."_

"That's the most important piece of evidence we've heard yet. Write that down!"

The jury started writing furiously at their chalkboards." Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle…"

"Twinkle, twinkle." I scoffed, earning an amused look from Zach. "What next?"

"The Mad Hatter!" Lance called.

Grant came in giggling like a girl. He was prodded in the back with a spear and he jumped. "Oh... he he he he!"

"Off with your hat!" The Queen commanded.

"Oh, my! He he he!"

"And where were you when this horrible crime was committed?" Lance looked at me after he asked the question with a taunting smirk. He was having fun, showing me that he could turn my own friends against me whenever he liked. I resisted the urge to make a face at him.

"I was home, drinking tea. Today you know is my unbirthday." Grant explained.

Lance turned to the Queen. "Why, my dear! Today is your unbirthday too!"

"It is?"

Bex and Grant looked at one another. "It is?

"It is?" The cards all echoed.

"_A very merry unbirthday!"_

"_To me?" _

"Oh no." I moaned.

"_To you! A very merry unbirthday!"_

"_For me?" _

"_For you!" _

" _Now blow the candle out, my dear and make your wish come true!_ He he he."

"_A very merry unbirthday__,__to you!" _

I sighed and whispered to Zach. "What do we do?"

"What do you think we're supposed to do?" He looked at my dress. Well, more at the pockets of my apron. "You look like hell by the way."

"Well, this is how you look after you face people's nightmares. First it's freezing to death, then freaking black smoke, then _zombies_ and burning alive." I gave him a desperate look. "Please don't tell me your nightmare is gonna be like that."

His eyes softened and then his poker face was back on. He looked away from me. "It's not. It's worse. My nightmare could probably get us stuck here forever."

* * *

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	10. Smoke The Monster Out

A clock chimed. We had one more hour left. Somehow another two had passed.

Fear spread through my body like ice. What did he mean by that? I couldn't ask questions though, we had little time. I cracked the mushroom in two and handed Zach a piece, using the brush pass technique so that no one noticed. But no one probably would anyway because the Queen was too busy showing off her new crown. Moments later we were growing and then our heads hit the wall.

"Off with her-!" The Queen began, but then took in our height.

I picked up a bunch of cards. "I'm not afraid of you. Why you're nothing but a pack of cards." I flung them out of my hold and the fluttered to the ground.

Lance recited one of the courtroom rules. "Rule forty two: all persons more than a mile high must leave the court immediately."

I crossed my arms. "I'm not leaving without my friends."

He looked annoyed. "Fine. Take them." He started to fade out. "Two more left, time is ticking." He vanished and I picked up my friends. Slowly we made our way to the exit and then we ate the other mushroom to go back to our normal sizes.

We started going through the maze, ending up in the same place over and over. "This is not good." I muttered.

"We've gotta find the rabbit house now. Jonas will probably be there. Maybe even Macey." Liz said.

Thankfully there wasn't an army of cards stampeding after us like in the cartoon. It was just us, finding out way through a huge maze. After a while we were finally out and in front of us was a forest. Some strange animals were knocking signs into the trees. 'Don't step on the momeraths' they read. We looked down and fluffy long eraser looking things scrambled into and arrow, pointing at a path that hadn't been there five seconds ago.

We ran down the path. Time was running out. Soon a large pink and white house came into view.

"We made it!" I yelled. "Oh my goodness, we won!"

"Don't be so sure." Lance's voice said.

We all came to a halt and he slowly appeared in front of us, blocking the front gate. "You haven't found two of your friends and you two," He pointed to Zach and me. "Haven't faced your nightmares yet."

"You said the game ends when we find the house." I said.

"Rules can be bent." He hissed. "Now, you, Jack. I didn't like your nightmare, so I'm changing it up a bit. And you, Alice, yours didn't suit my needs, so I'm going to make this one yours too." He grabbed me by the arm. "Don't worry, you'll see her soon." Then dragged me into the house.

* * *

Zach's POV

Bex, Grant, Liz, Macey, and I banged on the door, but it didn't open. Macey had found us again, thankfully. Probably because in the movie she showed up at this scene. Sort of.

I pounded my fist against the wood but it refused to budge. "Dammit!"

"We need another way." Bex said. "This door is definitely not opening."

We all scoped the house for other access areas. "There are a few windows but they're all too high." Liz said.

"You know what would be great, if we had a freaking lizard with a ladder like in the stupid cartoon." I said angrily.

Then we heard whistling. We all turned. "Jonas!" He stopped then his whole face lit up. "Oh man, finally!"

We didn't have time to catch up with one another. Straight away we explained the situation and leaned his ladder up against the house. We climbed to where the window was then busted in.

He was waiting for us.

The windows swung shut then they were gone, as though they'd never been there. The room was all in dark shades; black, purple, maroon. Cammie was nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"I see you found your friend." Lance said.

"Don't play with us, Lance. Tell us where she is." Macey snapped.

"Why she's right here." He held out his hands and two Cammie's appeared. "Now, you were afraid of your girlfriend dying. I don't like that, because that doesn't benefit me in any way. So I decided to change your nightmare, bending the rules you see, and made it losing your girlfriend. Now, for you to get through it, you have to choose which one of these is the right one."

My eyes darted between the two Cammies. He had to be kidding me. They were exact replicas of one another. "You have one sick, twisted mind."

He pretended as though I hadn't spoken. "Go on, examine them. Find the one difference that sets them apart. It could be the simplest thing. A longer nail perhaps, or a slightly different eye colour, or a scar that shouldn't be there. Just remember, you don't have the luxury of time." He taunted. "But then of course, if you think you know her so well, ask her a question only she would know the answer to. You can only choose on of the two options. Either you ask the question or look her over. If you don't want to do it, I can choose for you myself." He grinned. "I don't cheat, I swear. If you choose the right one you get to take her."

I took a deep breath. "I'll ask the question."

The two Cammies started talking and Lance whirled on them. "Silence! I don't want to hear another word from you two until you're addressed directly."

They fell silent and both their eyes were on me.

I wracked my brain for the question that would let me know which was Cammie. But everything I came up with wasn't right. What if the other Cammie knew the answer? Nothing was impossible here, right? I thought over the movie, maybe there was a question she'd know the answer to. Then I knew what I had to say. "Who are you?"

One of the Cammies sighed in frustration while the other said 'Cammie'. I smiled and pointed to the one that said her name. "That's her."

She bounded over to me and threw her arms around my neck. The other was rooted to her place. "What? No! No! No! No! Zach, no!" I ignored her pleas even though they tore my heart into shreds. It sounded exactly like her, but that was the point. It was a trick, a cruel trick, and Lance was a master of fooling people.

"Go on." Lance said, gesturing to the door behind him. "You don't have much time left to get out of here."

"No!" She shouted.

Cammie hugged me closer as we left. "Thank you." She said.

The door shut and then the whole house disappeared. Same with the gate, the fence, everything. Then a rushing wind drowned everything out and the sky darkened. Dark grey spun down from the sky to meet the earth.

The twister circled towards us, but Jonas backed away. "Oh, no." He moaned.

"How do we get out?" Cammie shouted.

We all looked around us but we were surrounded by a field. I pointed to the twister. "We go in there."

"What? No!" Jonas protested, but we were already running towards it.

Soon it got hard to move against the whirling wind. I held onto Cammie tightly, not wanting to lose her again. "Almost there!"

Then we were being sucked up into the blackness, going straight through the middle.

We were out.

* * *

I opened my eyes, rubbing them with a yawn. Cammie lay curled up against me.

The TV was on, playing the credits to the Alice In Wonderland cartoon. Weird, I didn't remember putting it in.

Everyone else was waking up too.

I reached for the remote to turn it off and Cammie woke up. She blinked and yawned. "Wow, did I fall asleep during the movie?"

"Looks like everyone else did too." I noted. I'd watched the movie before and I hadn't fallen asleep during it. I guess the trip to Gallagher was long.

Cammie was shaking her head. "I can't believe we fell asleep on your birthday."

I glanced at my watch. "It's past midnight, it's not my birthday anymore."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Well, I'm outta here." Macey said, then the door shut behind her before any of us could say a thing.

I got up and Cammie walked with me back to my room. We stopped at the door. "I'm sorry about today. It wasn't supposed to be this boring."

"Hey, it was fun." I reassured her. "Besides, I'm just glad to be with you."

She smiled then kissed me. "Good night, Zach." She turned to leave. "Oh, and Happy _Un_birthday."

* * *

**Yay! They're out! And for those of you who don't get it, no one remembers the game.**

**Review! First three reviewers can get a sneek peak for the next chapter in my other story ****_Happily Never After_**** or ****_That Dark Night _****if they want. Just let me know =)**

**_Ivoryyy_**


	11. Falling Apart To Half Time

Zach's POV

"How long has it been?" I asked, even though I knew.

Bex cast me a side-long look of frustration. "She'll be here. Give her time. So she's a little late, the world isn't gonna end."

"We're supposed to be on the jet in a half hour." I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Grant, tell him to stop being a baby."

That's when she came into the foyer.

She looked different.

Her hair was down, poofy, wearing clothes and make up only Macey would. Her lips were especially red and glossy. "Wow." Was all I said.

Her lips twisted into a one-sided grin. "I know, it's a bit much. And I did try to wash the lip stain off. It literally stains your lips, like a permanent marker. But I think it's okay, don't you think?"

"Uh-huh." I said absent-mindedly. I shook myself, getting back on track. "Okay, let's get going."

"Wait, wait, wait." A voice said behind us. It was Cammie's mom. She rushed over to us with a pained expression on her face. "I really don't want to be doing this, but if it's what keeps you safe and me sane, I have to." She handed me a bag. "Keep those with you all the time." I opened the bag and almost gaped at her. The bag was stuffed with guns. "You never know when you'll be in danger. And I can't risk losing Cammie, so keep eachother safe." She hugged her daughter and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Be safe." She repeated.

Cammie smiled and embraced her again. "Of course."

* * *

Cammie was watching a movie beside me. Sometimes she dozed off but then she woke up again. Grant was with Bex. Jonas with Liz. Macey alone in the very front, hogging up two chairs, which meant a lot of space. All of them were sleeping. Figures, it was two after midnight.

Cammie sighed and pulled off the earphones. She rubbed her ears as though they were hurting. She glanced at me. "How much time do we have left?"

"Around three more hours."

She blew out an annoyed breath. "God, has it really only been two? How long do we have to drive afterwards?"

"Eight hours."

Her eyes widened. "You really are trying to kill us."

I smirked. "Can't risk you figuring out where we're going."

She settled back in her seat. "Right. We're going to your summer house which exists in some wonderland off the map."

"Precisely."

* * *

Cammie sat in shotgun flipping through the radio channels, trying to find one that worked. So far none did.

I'd made sure they'd all gotten rid of any maps, GPSs, and navigators so that they had no chance of figuring out where we were going.

I wanted it to be a surprise.

"Jeez, wonderland's radio sucks." Cammie said. She turned and leaned between our seats. "Bex, can you give me that CD you made?"

"Sure, hold on." I could hear her going through the crap in her bag. "Where are you…" More searching. "Aha! Found it."

Cammie pulled back and stuck the CD in. The first song that went on was Dance, Dance by Fallout Boy.

I laughed as they all rocked out to the music. I couldn't fool around since I was the one driving.

Then some other song went on but everyone was talking so no one really listened to the lyrics.

But I heard them.

_Note to self, don't change for anyone. _

_Note to self, don't die._

* * *

**REVIEW! You know you want to...**


	12. Let The Right One In

**First of all, you can thank _Caseyrose18 _for reminding me to update this story. I don't think if she'd PMed me that I'd have updated =P So this chapter's dedicated to her.**

**And second of all, I wanted to do a mini questionnaire, just two questions, answer it after you've read this chapter. 1) What's your favourite quote(s) from this story? 2) Who's your favourite character, not including Zach or Cammie?**

* * *

Zach's POV

Once we arrived everyone set off to do their own thing once they got rooms. Cammie was alone, Bex and Liz were together, Macey was alone, Grant and Jonas were together, and I was alone. Yes, my summer house is that big.

Macey started unpacking everything straight away, and within fifteen minutes her room was filled with her stuff. Bex explored the house with Grant, heading straight for the attic first. Jonas opened his laptop, trying to track down where we were. Of course he couldn't. And Cammie went out to her balcony, staring out at the neighbor's house.

Except for my summer house and the other one, no one lived here. I didn't know my neighbors. Heck, the last time I'd come here, which had been last year, there hadn't even been another house.

I leaned against the doorframe to her room, just watching her.

"I know you're there." She said.

I smirked. Of course she did. "Like the view?"

She turned to me and gave a taunting smile. "I'd prefer having an ocean view, but I guess this is as good as it gets."

I gave her a suspicious look. "There may be a beach nearby…" I hinted.

She laughed and flopped onto her bed. "Good. I don't think I'd be able to handle Macey's constant complaints that she's stuck in the house all day." She propped herself up and plastered a mock-horrified expression on her face. "Who knows, maybe she'd get so desperate for shopping, that she'd actually go on _Amazon_ to order clothes."

"I heard that you know!" Macey's voice yelled from three doors down.

"So, you know your neighbor?" Cammie asked, suddenly changing the topic.

I shook my head. "Nope. Never met them before."

She got up. "Huh," Walking out on the balcony, she tied up her hair and I noticed something that made me freeze for a second. "So they're new?"

I ignored her question and brushed back her hair. "Cammie… Is that a tattoo?" On the back of her neck was a picture of a sun with many points. In the middle there was an eye.

For a second she tensed, then laughed. "Zach, how stupid do you think I am? Of course it's not a tattoo. It's one of those temporary ones from gum wrappers. It'll come off soon."

"So you put it where no one else could see it?" I said skeptically.

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously, Zach. I did it for fun, okay? I thought it would be cool, but apparently it's not."

"No, no. Look, I'm sorry-"

Just as I was going to keep apologizing Grant and Bex burst in. "Dude, you have got the most awesome attic in all of history." Bex gasped. The two looked like they were breathless. I really hoped it was because they were searching through the crap up there really hard.

"Except for the part where there are lots of spiders." Grant added. Bex turned to him, appalled that he was frightened by something like that. He reddened. "Not that that's scary or anything." He added hastily. She was still giving him a look. He pointed at her face. "That is though." She smacked the back of his head and walked out of the room. He followed her.

Cammie and I were alone again. She looked weirded out by the short conversation we'd just witnessed. Then she turned and said. "Let's go meet your neighbor."

* * *

A few hours later everyone was ready. Yes, a few hours. No one was in the mood to leave right then, they were all tired. So we all napped, then got ready. It was night by the time we stepped out of the house.

Cammie had her lipstain on again. Vivid even in the darkness. She'd even used a smokey around her eyes. For a second I wondered if she was trying to impress anyone, because even her clothes were un-Cammie –like. Most everything was.

Macey was the last one we had to wait for. She apparently had forgotten to pack a pair of her favourite high heels and had to change her whole outfit because of them.

Finally, we were out.

A couple minutes and we were at the door to the neighboring house. Cammie went up first, stepping in front of everyone, and ringing the doorbell. No one came.

"I don't think it works." Bex said. "I didn't hear it ring."

We all glanced up at the house. It was wet from rain and vines crawled up like spidery fingers. It was like one of those houses you'd find in a horror movie.

Cammie rapped her knuckles loudly against the wooden door.

Then we heard footsteps.

The door opened and a guy emerged. His hair was black, tipped with white, like icicles. His eyes were just as dark. When he saw Cammie he smiled. Then he looked at the rest of us. "I thought I heard you guys." He held out his hand to Cammie who had a similar grin on her face. He kept his eyes on her and shook her hand. "I'm Lance."

* * *

**And the Wonderland is back... =) **

**What's going to happen now? Lance is back, but no one knows who he is... Something big is coming. You better watch out...**

_**Ivoryyy**_


	13. Deepest Bonds Go Cold

Zach's POV

I bounded down the stairs in frustration, lugging around Cammie's swimming bag that Macey had packed for her. I entered the living room where everyone was sitting. "Where the hell is Cammie?"

Bex rolled her eyes. Macey looked amused by my exasperation. She was the one who answered. "She's still at Lance's. Can we go yet?"

I glanced at the door then back at her. From a nearby table I snatched up one of the car keys and tossed it at her. She caught it with a smirk. "Go ahead. Meet us at the beach."

Grant, Jonas, Liz, Bex, and Macey walked past me, into the garage. A minute later they were out of the driveway. I grabbed the other car keys and headed over to Lance's. I pounded my fist against the door and waited a few seconds until the door swung open. It was Lance. It irritated me that he was taller than I was. "Looking for Cammie?" He asked tauntingly.

"Yes. I am." I snapped. "Is she here? We're supposed to be at the beach."

He had a look on his face as though the thought of swimming was childish. "Yes. Come in."

I did. I hadn't noticed how gloomy his house was. All his walls and floors were some dark shade of purple, or brown, or red. And there were hardly any windows. Any that I saw, were boarded shut. Not with curtains, like a normal person would have them, but with shutters. His furniture was also different, all of it was old fashioned, or so modern it looked unrealistic.

Cammie was sitting on a sofa with her feet up on a black coffee table in front of her. Once again, her appearance appalled me. She wore a baggy grey off the shoulder top, black leggings, leg warmers, colourful sneakers with mismatched laces, and dangly earrings. Her hair flopped into her face, drooping out of its messy bun.

She didn't notice me at first since she was leaned over one of her shoes with a pink Sharpie. Then I realized that in the morning her sneakers had been white. She'd drawn all over them! She glanced up at me. "Hey."

"Hey… What're you doing to your shoes?"

She held up a box of colourful Sharpies. "Colouring them in case it's not obvious." She snapped the lid onto the Sharpie she was holding and set it down on the table beside her. "So what's up?"

Lance walked into the room and handed her Cammie iPod that she had left somewhere else in the house. "You're going swimming."

She glanced at him then me, then her bag in my hand. "Oh. Okay. Sorry. I forgot."

"Do you have your swimsuit? Macey couldn't find it." I added.

She pulled down the front of her shirt, revealing her bikini. "Yep." She turned to Lance with an awkward grin. "I'll see you later then."

He returned her grin with an equally mischievous one. "Definitely."

We walked back into the dark foyer where he took her coat and helped her put it on. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. The two had been hanging out too much for my liking. We'd been here for only five days and it was like they were the best of friends.

Just before she shut the door she turned. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

I kept my expression straight but in the meantime was thinking, _please say no please say no please say no no no no-_

"No, sorry. I'll call you later though." He said. Right, did I forget to mention the two of them talked every night before bed?

Her face fell and she pouted. "Fine. Bye."

Finally we were in the car. She was silent, rummaging through her bag. I noticed her hand bump the gun, which she promptly shoved into the deepest corner of her bag.

"Why do you keep that in your bag?" I asked.

"If I have to have it, I'm keeping it out of sight. So long as it's near, I'm fine." She replied, not looking up once. Finally her hand emerged with her lip stain. "Aha!"

I frowned. "I thought you didn't like that thing."

She rubbed it onto her lips, lifting her eyebrows. "I never said that. I just said it's really… permanent. But there's nothing wrong with that."

I sighed. "Whatever you say, Gallagher Girl. Whatever you say." We fell into silence again but I broke it again. "So, you and Lance have been hanging out a lot lately…"

"Yeah. Why?" She said, clearly uninterested. Then she looked at me. "Wait. Are you jealous?"

"No." I lied.

She burst out laughing. "Yes you are!" She continued giggling, doubling over in the process. Once she was done she was smiling and put her hand on my shoulder. "Zach, Lance and I are just friends, honest. Besides, he's not all that bad."

I met her eyes. They were truthful and sincere. I believed her.

Little did I know how wrong I was.

* * *

**I'm sorry I didn't update last week even though I promised! I prob won't tomorrow either, but I'll TRY on Sunday.**

**Btw, I have NEVER used lip stain, my friend has and she told me about it. Sorry if im getting things wrong =P**

**BTW! In case you dont know! I love you guys! Thank you for reviewing! For TWELVE chapters I have ONE HUNDRED FIFTY TWO reviews! Thankkkk youuuu!**

_**Ivoryyy**_

* * *

**CAMMIE'S OUTFIT**

**(Get rid of the spaces after the dots between the links)**

http:/images. bizrate. com/resize?sq=220&uid=2069288919

http:/2. bp. blogspot. com/_NxhVRrkLzaY/TD3WQM-uALI/AAAAAAABXBA/YxEe9mEvy0U/s1600/black-leggings-2. jpg

http:/www. madamefantasy. com/WebRoot/StoreGB/Shops/61359424/4711/28CC/2251/217A/0994/C0A8/28B9/C948/leg-warmers-light-purple_m. jpg

http:/4. bp. blogspot. com/_wRbdYMa-NWg/Srn6v2xh5-I/AAAAAAAABG8/-jNPumxLzII/s320/white+converse. jpeg


	14. When Sight Goes Blind

Zach's POV

June came, and June went.

Lance came, and Lace went. Cammie with him of course.

Then came July 20th, Cammie's birthday.

Lance was invited. Of course. We also invited some friendly people that we'd met at the beach. There were three girls, Kaylie, Moira, and Cora and four guys, Richard, Cory, Kaleb, and Jason.

The party started at six, so we had time to prepare.

My job was to make sure that Cammie didn't enter the house, since everything was a surprise. Macey clearly explained how painful my punishment would be if I didn't do my job.

So, we took a walk. A really, really long walk.

Cammie was dressed in her most modest clothes, which was a drastic change since I'd gotten used to her ridiculous clothing. She also hadn't put on her lip stain and raccoon-eyes eyeshadow.

She sighed and lifted her face to the sunny sky. We were sitting on rocks by a pond, surrounded by trees. Her dress was hanging off a tree branch beside us, in one of those bag things. "It's so nice here. I'd stay if I could."

I smirked. "Vacations only last so long, Gallagher Girl. We have to come back eventually."

She opened her eyes and returned my smirk. "Way to kill someone's dreams, Zach. Especially on my birthday. Isn't it weird, your birthday was a little over a month ago, and now it's mine. And I'm pretty sure that Macey's making sure that no one falls asleep playing a game."

I frowned. "Game? We didn't play a game on my birthday."

She tensed. "Right. Sorry. I meant, movie."

I let this slide, deciding she must've mixed up her words. "As of today, you're officially an adult. 18 years old, all grown up."

A faint smile twisted up. "Yeah… It's kind of scary. No one's responsible for us anymore, you know?"

I looked down at the ground. "Yeah. I do know the feeling."

I felt her hand on my shoulder and turned. Her face was sympathetic. "Zach, I'm sorry…"

I glanced down at my watch and cleared my throat. "We have to be back in twenty minutes. So…" I stood, taking out her dress. We both had to be all ready when we got back, which meant we had to be dressed up too. I was already wearing my nice clothing. She wasn't.

She took the dress, looking around for a place to change.

I turned away. "I won't look. Promise."

A few hesitant seconds later I hear her undressing. I could here the ruffle of her clothing, the zipper of her shorts, then the sleek sound of her dress.

"Done." She said.

I turned and grinned. She was beautiful. Her dress was white with black and yellow flowers, and ribbons dangling at her sides.

I approached her and tied the ribbons into a bow behind her.

She turned around but I kept my hands at her waist. She looked me in the eyes, looking so small and innocent.

Without even thinking about it, I lowered my lips to hers.

We just stood there, kissing, for a few minutes. She was the one to break away though. She bit her lip, smiling. "Come on. We've got a party to go to."

I slung my arm around her shoulders. "Let the games begin."

Liz's POV

And so they did. Just I remembered none of it.

When I walked upstairs to find Cammie I heard voices yelling.

It was Cammie and Lance. I peeked into a room and gasped.

There was a swirling black mass on one of the walls and Lance was dragging Cammie to it. She was yelling and swatting him, digging her feet into the rug.

The music downstairs was too loud for anyone else to hear, even I could hardly make sense of anything. The only way I knew what they were saying was by reading their lips.

Finally, Lance gave her a good shove and she tumbled into the portal. Only a second after she went in, she came back out. Well, basically strutted out.

She had an evil smirk on her face and gave Lance a seductive look. The portal disappeared once she stepped out fully.

He slipped his arm around her waist but she didn't move her hands from her hips. He kissed her, opening her mouth with his, and I gaped at the scene I was seeing.

What was happening?

She pulled back a few moments later though and looked right at me. "Lookie, here, Lance. We've got an audience." She reached her hand out and suddenly I was in the room too, the door slamming behind me. I stepped back when she stepped towards me.

She turned to him with a pout. "Can I do it this time? Please?"

"Be my guest." He said.

She laughed shortly and humourlessly. Pleased.

"Who are you?" I managed.

She smirked at me and her ice-cold fingers touched my face. "Listen to me, and listen carefully." I felt weightless under her gaze and my surrounding went fuzzy. All I could see were her eyes and hear her voice. "You didn't see anything, got it?"

"I didn't see anything." I repeated.

"You're going to leave this room as though nothing happened. You do not remember anything you just saw." She commanded.

"I do not remember anything I just saw."

She smiled and released me from her grip. "Good girl. Now run along."

I blindly walked to the door, it opened and I left the room. As soon as I stepped out I forgot what had happened.

I saw Zach coming up the stairs. "Hey, you find Cammie?" He asked.

I blinked. Right, Cammie. I'd come up to find Cammie. "Uh, no. I… forgot."

He squinted at me then walked past me into the room right behind me. "What're you doing?" I heard him say.

I turned and saw her putting on her lip stain again. She looked over her shoulder at us. "Touching up my make up."

"You didn't have to put that on, Gallagher Girl." He groaned.

She shrugged. "Too late." She fluffed her hair then walked up to us. "Lance left. He has stuff to do."

Zach practically was ecstatic to hear that bit of news. Cammie rolled her eyes. "Zach, he's not that bad." She sighed, walking out of the room. Her head popped back though. "Come on, the party's downstairs, not up here." Then she looked right at me and said. "And I'm sure there are many more surprises waiting."

* * *

**Secret's out people. **

**Turns out Zach was wrong, he doesn't know Cammie at all. **

**You better watch out, Cammie was right. There are more surprises waiting. Let the games begin.**

_**Ivoryyy**_


	15. So Wrong It's Right

**Yay! I updated! And I'm pretty sure this is a decent sized chapter =) I originally wanted to cut the chapter to one fourth of this, so you're lucky I didn't and was in the mood to keep writing =P**

**BTW: The CoC do not exist in this story. Just saying.**

**For those of you who start wondering at the end of this chapter whether or not the story's over, it's not. Trust me on that. I wouldn't end it here.**

**Enjoy it! And remember, GOOD reviews!**

* * *

Zach's POV

There are two things I learned while kissing Cammie. One, she is amazing. Two, she is amazing. Well, one thing I guess.

I pulled back from her lips and started kissing her neck, earning a sigh of pleasure from her. She tipped her head back on the bed and I glanced up at her. That's when I noticed the scar on her lip. I lifted up from her and she looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"What happened to your lip? You've got a scar."

She flopped back onto the pillow with a groan. "You really know how to kill the mood, Zach."

"I'm just asking a question." I said defensively.

"I guess I bit it or something. Okay?" She snapped.

"People don't bite their lips that hard, Gallagher Girl." I said.

She smacked her hands over her face. "Oh my God." She moaned.

The door to my room opened and Grant came in. He skidded to a halt though when he saw us. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything. We're gonna go to the beach soon, so if you're coming, start getting ready."

Cammie pushed me off her and stuck her hand in her bag, shuffling around for something. Her hand emerged with a black scrunchie which she promptly tied her hair with into a messy bun.

I caught a glimpse of her tattoo again when she lifted her hair. "Your tattoo. It's still there."

"Oh my goodness, Zach, I swear if you don't stop asking so many questions I will kill you." She threatened. She picked up her jacket from the floor.

I ignored her. "You said it was temporary. It's not, is it?" I reached out and touched it. She drew away but that was enough.

Everything came flooding back. Memories that I hadn't known I'd lost. Wonderland, the White Rabbit, Lance, the nightmares, choosing the right Cammie. The whole Game. It came back to me like a slap in the face.

My eyes widened as I took in the girl in front of me. "Who are you?"

She stiffened and I grabbed her jacket. Immediately I shoved my hands into it, searching for her gun.

"You keep your gun in your jacket, don't you?" A metallic click sounded. "I keep mine in my bag."

When I lifted my eyes I was staring right down the barrel of a gun. She smiled and motioned to the door. "Move, now. The rest of them remember now that you do." When I didn't move she grabbed me and pushed me towards the door. "Get moving. Now!"

I opened the door and was met by Lance. Suddenly we weren't in my house anymore, but Lance's. It was different to when I'd last been there. It was Wonderland themed, only it seemed more Nightmareland-ish.

"He remembered." She said.

"I understood that." Lance said coolly. "The rest of them are in the living room."

She prodded me in the back again and I kept moving down the dark hallway. Candles flickered, the only source of light. Deep purple curtains were draped over the shuttered windows. I looked again and realized there were no windows. Just curtains.

I was led into the living room and told to sit down on a couch, farthest from my friends. Macey, Grant, Bex, Jonas and Liz sat on the opposite side of the room. "Who are you?" Bex demanded furiously at the girl.

She lifted an eyebrow; Cammie had never been able to do that. "Not Cammie, that's for sure." She turned to me. "Turns out you don't know her as well as you thought you did."

"You know, what disappoints me most is that I basically told you which was the wrong Cammie, yet you still chose her." Lance said.

"You didn't." I said.

He looked at me questioningly. "Are you sure about that?"

Another memory came back to me of Lance speaking in the Game.

"_Find the one difference that sets them apart. It could be the simplest thing. A longer nail perhaps, or a slightly different eye colour, or a scar that shouldn't be there."_

The scar that shouldn't have been there. That's what the answer was. And I'd been stupid enough to think I knew her well enough.

Lance was grinning at me, as though he'd put the memory in my head, proving that he was right. "So you see? I helped you cheat."

The girl shifted on her heels, gazing at my friends. "What do we do with them?"

Lance's attention shifted off me and I took my chance. I leapt up from the couch at the girl. She swiveled around so quickly and suddenly I was slammed up against the wall with her fingers wrapped around my neck. "Don't test me, boy." She hissed. "I could kill you right this second and you wouldn't even have the time to blink before I snapped your neck like a twig." Her lips came close to my ear. "You don't want that to happen, wanna know why? Because then you don't get to see your precious girlfriend again. So, shut up and don't try anything stupid. Believe me, I won't think twice about killing you." She dropped me and I fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Alice." Lance said in a scolding tone. "Must you always be so reckless?"

She walked back to him, not even glancing back at me. "I do. Once again, what are we doing with them?"

Lance smirked. "Oh, I've got a lot planned for them." He turned to me. "How would you like to see your girlfriend again?"

I glanced at the others. They all exchanged a look. I stood up. "What's the catch?"

He and the girl grinned at one another. "Well, I've got another game set up for you. You pass and you're free to leave with her. You lose and you're stuck here with me in Wonderland."

None of us said anything for a few moments. Then I reached out my hand to him. "Deal."

He shook it and the whole room around us changed. When he let go of my hand we were in a huge foyer. It was dark but more open than the other. A large staircase wound down from a second floor and then Cammie was walking down it. Her expression was cold, an expression I had never seen on her. I narrowed my eyes at her. "This isn't Cammie, either."

Alice laughed. "Yes that is. You've upset her, you see. You were prepared to leave her here for eternity with Lance. You chose me." She walked around me as she said every word. "Things change, Zachary. People change." She leaned in to me and whispered. "Get used to it." Then she vanished into thin air.

I shuddered and got another good look at Cammie. She was staring at me with pure hatred. Then I noticed how close to Lance she was standing. And that he had his arm around her waist. What had I missed? But then I thought back to everything I'd done with this impostor version of Cammie. I'd honestly believed it was her. She had every right to be angry.

"So, shall we get on with it?" Lance suggested.

Cammie grabbed the front of his shirt and said with a clenched jaw. "You cannot be serious about handing me over to him."

"My game." He said, prying off her fingers. "My rules." With a shove, she stumbled forward towards me.

The scenery changed again and I was alone in a pure white hallway with Lance standing beside me.

I looked around. "I don't get it."

"Of course you don't. All the players of this game have been so narrow-minded." He said. "The objective is simple. Walk to the end of the hall." Then he was gone just like Alice.

I hesitated at first but then took a step forward. Everything became a swirl of colours instead of white. At the end of the tunnel was a small door. Just like the one from the cartoon.

When I took that step a blast of memories rushed over me. They weren't my memories though. They were Macey's. The day she found out she was adopted.

Another step. Grant's. The day in Blackthorne that he realized his parents didn't want him anymore.

Another step. Bex's. The day she was told her older sister had been in a car crash.

Another step. Jonas's. The day he was called a geek at school and was shoved head-first into a toilet.

Another step. Liz's. The day it finally hit her that she wasn't normal.

Another step. Cammie's. The day she was told her father was dead.

Another step. Mine. The day I was told my parents were gone and were never coming back.

Another step. This time I didn't get memories, I got emotions. I cringed at the things I saw, the pain I felt. I knew that this was basically intruding on everyone's lives, but we had to get out. I took another step.

Cammie was crying. She felt that someone had ripped out a piece of her heart. A feeling I knew all too well. She felt pain, and sorrow, and anger. Everything was a swirl of emotions.

Another step and I felt a feeling I'd shoved down long ago crawl back up. I felt guilt, and sadness, and hate. My parents were gone and it was my fault. I'd never have them back. I was never good enough. They didn't want me.

I bumped into something and realized I was at the door. I yanked it opened and fell into a cave-like space. A soft white light was coming from above. In front of me stood the girl, only this time looking like the real Alice, and Lance was off to the side.

I whirled around. "You said all I had to do was get through the door!"

He cocked his head to the side. "But you're not through the door. Look."

I turned back and the door was behind her. Her blue eyes weren't amused or crazy anymore, now they were scared.

"What's going on…" I said. Suddenly a knife was in my hand. She saw it and scampered back but she hit the door, which let out a creak and spurted out light.

A smile crept onto Lance's face. He smiled a smile that showed all his teeth, then slowly started fading out. Soon all that was left were his eyes and teeth, the rest of him was gone. Then that faded out. "All you have to do," His words echoed around me. "To get through that door," The girl was terrified now. "Is kill her."

I met her eyes and understood everything now.

"Please, Zachary, you need me. He's lying, he's a liar. He lives on destroying other people's lives. Please. I'm not just saying this for myself. I _have_to exist! Please, you'll be making the worst mistake of your life-"

Then the knife was right in her heart. I stepped back, disbelieving of what I'd just done. She gaped at me then fell to the floor, her blood smothering all over the door.

Then everyone appeared around me. Macey, Jonas, Grant, Liz, Bex, and Cammie. They took in the dead Alice and then looked at me.

Macey recovered first, stepping over her and opening the door to a blinding light. "It had to be done, guys. We're free now." She walked out.

The others followed. Cammie was last. I touched her hand but she shook me off. "Gallagher Girl-"

"Go to hell." She snapped. Then she was swallowed by the light too.

I sighed and looked at everything one last time. My eyes fell on the girl at my feet. "I'm so sorry." I whispered.

Then I stepped through, leaving Wonderland behind once and for all.

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**Rrrrreeeeevvvviiieeeeeewwwwww! I updated didn't I? So therefore I deserve GOOD reviews =P**

**PS. For those who don't know, I have a new story called ****_Death Be Not Proud_****. True Blood inspired me to write it. Well, mostly Pam and Eric did =P You don't have to like True Blood to like the story. Just go check it out, I think you'll like it =)**

**Review!**

_**Ivoryyy**_


	16. Dreaming With Eyes Wide Open

_Back to Cammie's POV…_

I packed my bags, shoving all of my stuff inside, not bothering with folding or organization. My only goal was to get the hell out of this place. Period.

A knock at the door. "Go away." I snapped. The door opened. Macey came in. I blew out a breath, all my snappy comments going away.

"It's just me. Relax." She said. "The others are making sure that he doesn't come near you." He. Zach.

I averted my gaze, picking up my iPod, putting it into the bag. "Thanks. I just can't face him right now… I need time."

She nodded. "I understand. We all do. He doesn't, but we do."

My mind drifted back to the past few weeks. All the time I'd spent with Lance. I couldn't believe I was saying this, but I actually missed him. His house was gone, just like the Game and Alice. Everything was gone, like nothing had happened. Like we'd spent a normal summer in the middle of nowhere. But I knew what happened. Bex knew, Macey knew, Grant knew, everyone knew. This summer would be with us forever.

I realized Macey had been speaking while I'd been zoning out so I just nodded. "Cammie? Did you hear a word I just said?"

I looked at her with a guilty smile. "Sorry… I'm a bit out of it today."

"Yeah I can tell." She sat down on my bed, making sure I was looking at her. "I asked if you wanted to sit next to me on the jet. I figured since Liz will be with Jonas, Bex with Grant, and I'm alone, you could sit with me. Since you're avoiding Zach and all…"

This time I nodded for real. "Definitely. The farther I am from him, the better."

She picked up a flip flop from under the rug I was standing on and handed it to me. I promptly put it in the bag. "Hun, you do remember that Blackthorne's here for a full semester, right?"

I tipped my head back with a groan, uttering a swear. "Why me? Why always me?"

"I'll take that as a no." She replied.

I sighed and put the bag down, sinking to the floor. "Thank God this vacation is over. I don't think I can stand another minute in this house."

She got up, pulling me to my feet as well. "Go for a walk. I'll go get Bex or Liz and they'll take you outside. Meanwhile, I'll be packing this disaster you've been attempting to, okay?"

"Macey-"

"No, I didn't mean that 'okay' as a request for your permission." She popped her head out of the room and yelled. "Liz! Bex! Can either one of you go for a walk with Cammie?" She waited for a response.

"I'll go! Liz has to finish packing!" Bex's muffled voice called up the stairs. A second later she was bounding up the stairs and was in the room. "Kay, Cams, _vamanos_."

I glanced at Macey who pushed me towards the door. "Go. This mess," she gestured to the room and my suitcase. "Will be gone by the time you get back."

With one last push I was out the door.

Once we were outside I felt more relaxed. All the stresses that I felt inside the house slowly slipped away.

"Glad to get out of here, aren't you?" Bex said.

I nodded. "Mm-hm. The sooner the better."

"Well, first we have to get through an eight hour road trip, then we have a five hour flight." She gave me a quick hug. "We're gonna be home soon, Cam. Just have a little patience."

"I completely forgot that Blackthorne is staying for a whole semester. I seriously thought that after this I wouldn't have to see Zach again." I said.

"Do you think you'll ever forgive him?" She asked. "I'm not siding with him, just you two are good together. I just wonder if this is something you guys will get past."

I shrugged. "I don't know, Bex. I really don't. I get that the choice for him was hard to make, but I'm still upset. He left me with Lance for weeks. I didn't even know if you guys were ever coming back, so I thought I was going to be there forever. Do you know how much that hurt? He left me there. And I could see everything he did with that fake me. Lance has this weird mirror and when I looked into it, I could see her. And him. And everything they were doing together. All those times he kissed her and hugged her and comforted her, _it wasn't me. _But he thought it was… He should know better. I don't act like that, I don't_ dress_ like that. _It's not me_."

"Yeah, but Cammie, none of us remembered what happened, so you can't really blame him." Bex said weakly.

"Yes I can. He was bound to remember, he just didn't try. And that tattoo, that was basically the key to him remembering. But he was too stupid to think about it. That tattoo is their symbol. Lance has one, everyone in Wonderland has one. I don't. That was another thing that set us apart. The scar on her lip and the tattoo."

"Liz said she remembered something from your birthday." She said. "Something about two of you and a portal…"

I thought back to that day, that night. "Lance let me come back. For my birthday. That day it was the real me. Of course I had to pretend to be normal because only I remembered what happened while none of you did. God, Zach and I went for a walk and I was doing my hair, I made sure to show him my neck. I didn't have a tattoo that day since it was the real me. He could've remembered but he wasn't paying attention." I sighed. "Then I had to go back. The deal was that if you guys remembered I could stay, if you didn't I had to go back to Wonderland. So I did. And the fake me came back."

Suddenly her arms were around me, pulling me into a hug. "Cammie, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything you've been put through. I'm sorry we couldn't remember, I'm sorry you had to be stuck in Wonderland with Lance-" She kept going but I didn't hear it. The thing was, I wasn't sorry that I'd been stuck there. I'd actually enjoyed it. Lance had been kind to me and treated me well. He hadn't let any harm come to me. If I really had been stuck there forever, I don't think I would've minded. Except for the part that I'd be leaving everyone behind, my friends, my family, my home.

I just looked at her and smiled. "We'll be okay, Bex. We'll be okay."

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It's appalling how many times people lie in one day.

I, for one, had been lying when I'd said everything would be okay, without even knowing it.

When we got back to Gallagher I was immediately embraced by my mom. "Honey, I've missed you so much. How was the trip? Was it fun?"

I forced myself to smile and nod. "Yeah, it was great."

She looked into my eyes to see if I was lying. I hoped she couldn't see that I was. She must've found some hint of truth that she stopped examining me and lead me through the foyer. "Well, to bring you up to speed, Blackthorne has a new student." She brought me to her office and opened the door. "I've asked him do drop by, I thought maybe you could show him around."

I looked at her hopeful eyes and smiled. "Of course."

She poured me a cup of tea and I sat down on the couch, waiting for the newbie. "He's in your grade so you'll probably be seeing a lot of him."

I bobbed my head up and down thoughtfully, not really paying attention to what she was saying. "Sure."

There was a knock at the door and my head turned. I started choking on my tea when I saw who it was. "Lance?"

His eyes met mine and a smirk twisted onto his face. "Hey, Cammie. Long time no see."

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**And he's back! I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist =P Sorry if this chapter was boring, but I had to explain a lot of things. I made it pretty long so that makes up for it =)**

**REVIEW!**

_**Ivoryyy**_


	17. There's Nothing Faster Than Slow

**I'm sorry if you expected a huge chapter, but I was a bit stuck on what to write and I really wanted to update. I have a general idea on what's coming so please be patient! Thanks for being such AWESOME reviewers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to the the person who wrote my 200th review for this story. I only have 16 chapters and I have 208 reviews! Thank you! So this chapter goes to... drum roll please... _2lazy2b clever! _**

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**Anyway! Back to the actual story =) Previously on _Nothing's Impossible..._**

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_"Lance?"_

_His eyes met mine and a smirk twisted onto his face. "Hey, Cammie. Long time no see."_

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_

I gaped for a second at him, during which time my mom said. "You two already know eachother?"

I pulled myself out of my stupor. "Yeah. We met over the summer." I made myself look at her. "So, since we don't need to introduce ourselves, can we go? I have got so much to show Lance."

My mom looked a bit shocked, completely not expecting that we'd already know eachother. "Yeah, sure, go ahead."

As soon as we were out of the room and down the hall I turned on him, slamming him against the wall. "What the hell are you doing here, Lance? You said we were free to go once we won the game."

He pried my fingers off his shirt like they weren't holding on with an iron grip. "First of all, yes, you are free. Second, I'm not here for you. And third, I thought you wanted me, Cammie."

"I stopped wanting you when you left me without a second thought." I hissed. "And you didn't answer my question, Lance. Why. Are. You. Here."

"Jeez, Cam, relax." He said, holding his hands up.

Before he could respond, which I don't think he would've done anyway, a group of girls from eighth grade stumbled around the corner, giggling foolishly. I recognized them; it was Tereza, Vera, Sheila, and Belle. They of course didn't sense the tension in front of them.

"Oh, hi." Belle said, flipping her blonde hair. She checked out Lance and from her eyes I could tell she liked what she saw. "Hi, I'm Belle. You must be new." She said to him. Then she turned to me. "Does this mean you're done with Zach? 'Cause you can't have two hot guys all to yourself."

I saw Lance smirking and I let out a huff, then walked away from them.

I stomped off and ended up pacing around the building. I couldn't stay inside for very long though. The walls felt like they were closing in on me and every time I looked out the window it felt as though something were calling me to go outside.

I shoved open the doors and entered the dark night.

An hour later, it happened.

Zach's POV

I heard the screams while I was wandering down the hall.

Not just any screams, Cammie's.

Without even thinking I started sprinting in her direction.

I wasn't the only one who heard them. Soon enough there were other people with confused looks on their faces.

I stopped in a dark hallway that I'd never been in before. People were behind me but were still far away.

There was a slightly open door that I crept up to. It was dark. When I peeked in I heard panicked shrieks and then something move. I pushed it open and ran down the stairs, leading down to another room that looked like a basement. There were a few lights, flickering on and off. "Cammie?" I called.

I heard something like a sob and made my way towards it. Then I came screeching to a halt.

Cammie was sitting, crying by a refrigerator and inside it was a girl, frozen solid.

She pulled her legs up to her and sobbed. She mumbled things like "I don't know." "I can't." and "Not her."

I tore my eyes off the girl and kneeled down beside Cammie. "Gallagher Girl, what happened?"

She shook her head, her face scrunching up as another wave of tears crashed over her. I wrapped my arms around her and said. "Gallagher Girl, I'm going to get help, okay? Will you wait here or-"

She grabbed my shirt and pulled me back. "Don't leave me."

I glanced back at the girl. "Okay. I won't." She gripped my shirt, averting her eyes from the fridge.

"Gallagher Girl, can you tell me what happened?"

Her breath shook as she lifted her eyes to mine. "I can't remember. The last thing I remember is going outside and then I can't remember anything." She broke down again and I held her tighter. Something was seriously wrong here. "What if I did this? What if I killed her?" She sobbed. "What if it was me?"

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**Sorry for the cliffy my dearest reviewers but sometimes cliffies are needed to keep a reader going =P or hating the updater. Hopefully to keep them going ;)**

**Review! I'll dedicate the next chapter to whoever reviewed first for this chapter! And to add to that, I mean the first person who gives me a GOOD review first for this chapter. Good luck!**

_**~Ivoryyy**_

**PS. I have a poll up on my profile, please go check it out a vote!**


	18. The Unraveling

**I believe it's been three years since I updated this story; I honestly believed it was done for good. My readers probably believed so too. And yet, we have all been proven wrong. I've reread it to remember what happened so I could get back on track before continuing.**

**I have to warn you that my writing style has changed drastically over the last few years, so I'm trying my best to sound the same as I did before to fill in the gap of time. Please bear with me if it sounds a bit different, it has been a while. **

**Another thing, **_**you guys are simply amazing. **_**All my readers, all the people who reviewed this, you lift my spirits every day. I read through a majority of the reviews for this story over the last few days, and each of them made me smile. You guys are brilliant. Thank you so much for supporting me, it truly means the world.**

**Since this author's note is getting long, I'll cut it short here, but I will be writing shout outs sometime in the next few chapters because you guys deserve to be recognized. **

**Enjoy!**

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It had been two days since the incident. Since I had been discovered with the frozen girl. No one knew what happened, including me. I had been asked endless questions, but none of them had sparked a memory. It was tiring. And their questions weren't as bad as the ones the ones I consistently asked myself. What if it was me? What if I killed her?

A lot of people avoided me now. Partly to give me space, partly because they were scared of me. That seed of doubt had been planted in their minds; it didn't matter what they had previously thought of me. I was dangerous.

Zach and I were on better terms, and it helped that he believed I was innocent. There was still a rift we needed to patch over, but at least I was now willing to try.

My mother hadn't known whether or not the police should get involved, so we had dealt with the situation inside the school walls. Nobody was to let word of the death reach public ears. Some families had withdrawn their students out of fear, but otherwise, the Gallagher Academy was safe.

I was punching away at a punching bag when Zach sprung up on me. The fact that he'd managed to surprise me was a sign my composure was sliding; nobody should have been able to creep up on me. I swung my arm, contacting his nose. He clutched it and groaned, a gasp escaping my lips. "I'm so sorry!" I cried.

"Remind me not to do anything like that again." He said with a breathless laugh, looking at his hand. His nose was bleeding a little, but it didn't look broken. I lowered my arms but didn't share his mirth. I was too on edge to be laughing. "You've been in here a while." He continued, examining me, as though looking for some indicator of how I was doing. But it was written all over me, and Zach was smart, he knew how to read me better than most people. He'd be able to tell immediately that I wasn't coping. "Bex and Liz were looking for you."

I sat down on a bench, tying my hair up into a high ponytail to peel it off my sweaty neck. "I'm not really in the mood for company."

Zach's eyes roamed our deserted surroundings. "So I can see." He sat down beside me, hands in his lap. "It's not your fault."

His words caused my throat to choke up and I shook my head. "You don't know that."

"No, you're not capable of-"

"_You don't know that._" I repeated, looking at him intently. "Nothing has been the same recently, Zach. Everything has changed. I've changed. There's no telling if I was the one who killed her." I put my face in my hands. "God, what is happening?"

He didn't make any attempt to touch me, and for that I was grateful. "Whatever's going on, we're going to get to the bottom of this."

I breathed in shakily, finally voicing my thoughts. "What if it's too late?"

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Zach's POV

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Each of us had emerged from the Game different people, but all of us were learning to deal with it somehow. Cammie was the most damaged of us all, and with each day, she seemed to deteriorate even further. To say I felt at loss for a solution was an understatement. So I turned to the last resort.

I went to see Lance.

"Come in." His voice emanated from the room, just before I could knock on it. Creep. I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

"What the hell are you doing to her?" I demanded. My respect and patience for him had been lost with each atrocity Cammie had faced in the Game, and then even further after we'd had to pay the consequences for paying it. If this was his doing, then I was going to get him to fix it.

He lay sprawled across the bed with a bemused look on his face. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Anger boiled in my veins and I grabbed him from the bed, shoving him against a wall. "Don't screw around with me, Lance, I'm not in the mood. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Within seconds, our roles were reversed and he had me up against a wall, his fingers crushing my windpipe. He hardly looked like he was straining himself. I struggled against his grip, but to no avail. "Don't test me, Jack." He said threateningly. "You know I wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you cross a line. You should consider yourself lucky to be alive right now." He let go and I heaved a deep breath, struggling to regain my composure. I would not look weak, not in front of him. "Do you want to know what her nightmare was?" It didn't sound like he wanted to bond over something, rather his tone was taunting. He knew something I didn't, and I hated it. He didn't wait for my response. "Losing her mother."

Even though it was selfish, that hit me hard. My fear had been losing Cammie. But hers had not been losing me. It made sense; I had no parents to fear for, but she did. She'd already lost her father, losing her mother would be the ultimate blow. But then I remembered something. "So why didn't you allow her to face her fear?" Killing her mother seemed like something he would think twice about doing. He had no trouble watching people suffer and die. So why the exception?

"Because it would hurt her." He said. As though it were simple as that. "Because if she lost her mother, she would be destroyed. And as heartless as you think I am, I was not going to allow her to undergo that sort of pain." It was twisted, but right then I realized maybe Lance and I weren't so different. My mind promptly banished the though. No, we were nothing alike. He was obsessed, he was infatuated with an idea. He probably fell for every 'Alice' that played his Game. But where were they now? Had he let them go? Had he hurt them? Why Cammie? Why hadn't he allowed her to recede into the past? What made her so special that he had to follow her out of the Game into our real life? So many questions that I couldn't voice. I couldn't allow him the upper hand. And yet, simply standing in that room had done just that. He had the upper hand and he knew it.

I tried to convince myself his actions were anything but noble. He was doing this out of selfishness. But my fear was a product of selfishness too. _I _couldn't survive without Cammie. _I _would suffer. But I didn't want to. I didn't want to lose her. I couldn't. It was selfish. Lance had the chance to lose her so many times, he had not cheated, and he had saved her of some pain. I didn't want to understand his position, but I did. That was the worst part.

As though sensing the direction of my thoughts, a smirk curled his lips. He stepped towards me slowly, but I didn't back away. "Unlike you, Zachary, the last thing I want to do is cause her pain."

"Then what the hell is going on?" I said, my jaw set tensely. He was getting to my head. This had been a bad idea.

"I'm just enjoying the show, not orchestrating it. The chaos unravelling out there is just the beginning." His eyes glinted maliciously. "I believe the fabric between our universes is running thin. One person in this room is responsible for what's coming, and it sure as hell isn't me."

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**Did you guys enjoy it?! I loved writing this chapter, it feels great to get back to this story. Let me know what you think in your reviews! If there are any questions, comments, etc. feel free to share them with me! **

**As a side note, I have a new story going called **_**Think Twice**_**, so go check it out! (:**

**I love you all.**

**-**_**Ivoryyy.**_


	19. Like A House Of Cards

**Before anything, I would like to say this chapter is dedicated to an old reader and a new reader who wrote _amazing _reviews for my last chapter.**

_**coloursinautumn -**_** YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN MY REACTION TO SEEING YOUR REVIEW. I WAS SO UNBELIEVABLY ECSTATIC TO DISCOVER AN OLD READER HAD RETURNED TO REVIEW MY WRITING. I was so worried that everyone had left this place behind, so it's truly wonderful to see some people are still here. It was sweet to see you'd noticed my writing style had changed; a comment only a dedicated reader would notice. (; Thank you so much for your kind words, love.**

**_PotatoesAndDragons - _YOUR REVIEW MADE ME GRIN LIKE A CHESHIRE CAT FOR TEN MINUTES STRAIGHT, YOU FANTASTIC PERSON YOU. Thank you so so so soooo much for writing all that, even though the first review cut off. :P Reviews like yours make my day; I adore it when people take the time to _really _tell me what they enjoyed. As for what you said about Lance, I've been getting a lot of mixed reactions concerning him! It seems he's the character everyone loves to hate, you know? It's hard to full-on despise him, since he's got that sexy edge to him. And I've tried to add a likeable side, just to torture you lovely people. I'm kidding, you know I am. (; Or am I... ANYHOO. Thank you, love. So much.  
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Zach's POV

Something was burning.

I woke immediately, not bothering to take anything that may seem "valuable". This wasn't a drill. The alarms going off were very real. The screams emanating from the hallways were very real. This was actually happening. There was no time for hesitation, no time for waiting; we had to leave _now_. If we wanted to survive, that is.

Grant and Jonas were up within seconds; we exchanged a shared look and exited the room we'd been provided with for our stay, following the mass of panicked students that was heading for safety. Teachers were waking those who had not come out of their rooms, guiding them to where they were meant to be. Everyone shared a same expression; complete and utter fear. Nobody knew what was going on, and yet everybody knew. We knew we needed to get out pronto.

My eyes spotted the familiar heads of Bex and Liz bobbing in front of us, their composures emanating worry. The reason as to why they were worried was explained when I couldn't find the third head. Cammie's. I stopped in my tracks then started moving against the crowd.

"Zach!" Grant grabbed my arm but I shook him off. At the sound of his voice, Bex and Liz came to a halt and backtracked to where we were. Well, it seemed like Liz was dragged. She was having a panic attack.

"Did you see it – it was – oh my god – Bex – it was so terrible – smoke everywhere – I can't – Cammie –where's Cammie-" Her jumbled speech continued ceaselessly, but from it we determined two things. First, the girls had seen the fire, or at least part of it. Second, nobody knew where Cammie was. And that was unacceptable.

But I knew my friends, and I knew Cammie's friends. If I went off trying to save her, they would undoubtedly come with me. Judging by the frantic situation, it may well be a suicide mission. "Let's get the hell out of here." I urged them, guiding them quickly through the hallway. Most people were running, jogging, speeding to save their lives, so there was no question in my rush. We headed down several flights of stairs where the traffic really started to set in. In the mass panic, organization was lost. Drills were one thing, the actual event was another. The girls were pushed further ahead, whereas Grant, Jonas, and I ended up split apart. This was my chance. I tore away from the crowd and trudged back up past the students as fast as possible. My friends shouted my name, but I didn't look back. No time. A few teachers tried to stop me, but I shook them off brusquely.

The sound of sirens sounded in the distance, flashes of red and blue illuminating the hallways through the windows.

"Cammie!" I shouted. There were few people left in the halls anymore. Soon enough, the hallways were deserted. The smell of smoke grew stronger with each step. But I didn't stop. "Cammie!"

A hand reached out to me, nearly sending me sprawling on my face. "Mister Goode-" A teacher began. It was one of the few I vaguely recognized, but couldn't place a name to. Not right now. Another time, I would have known who he was within a second. Cammie was my priority now, not a name. His face was wrought with worry for the students and staff; but a fear was also present. Fear for his own life. At the end of the day, most people lived for themselves. Live together, die alone.

"Don't stop me." I growled, snatching my arm back.

He took hold of my again, walking briskly in the direction I'd come from. "No time for this nonsense, Mister Goode, we must get out of here before it's too late-"

I did something before I could register what was happening. I punched a teacher. My fist collided with his nose, a crunch sounding as it crumpled at contact. I drew back and sprinted away before he could delay me any further.

"_Cammie!" _All the lights were out. I could hardly see where I was going in the middle of the night. The smoke was too thick. If I didn't die from burning alive, I would die from smoke inhalation.

The rational part of my brain screamed she might not even be in the building. I was being absurd hunting with no leads. But my feet were still driving me, regardless of how irrational this whole thing was. This was about Cammie. _Cammie_. Of all the people, I would not leave her behind. She had shown me that there was a good side to me. Underneath the bullshit, underneath the barriers I'd put up to restrict anyone from scraping past the surface only to discover irreparable flaws, there was something worth salvaging. And that was thanks to her. She had believed in me. Now I had to believe she was alive in here somewhere. I had lost her once, I was not going to do it again. I had made a mistake leaving her in Wonderland, a foolish mistake. This was my chance at salvation, even though it would never right the previous wrongs I'd committed. I had a chance to go back, I needed to take it.

But this wasn't just about redemption. It wasn't about being able to sleep at night knowing I'd tried my best. It was about her. Cameron Morgan. The girl whose fury, whose laughter, whose irritation all seemed so endearing simply because it was her. The girl who made everything in this world seem perfect, even though it was far from it.

"_Cammie!" _I called her name over and over. The sound of cracking caught my attention. My eyes snapped up, then I dashed out of the way seconds before the ceiling above collapsed right onto where I had been standing. The smoke only intensified and I finally caught sight of the fire. Flames on the floor above now began to crawl into this floor through the hole.

"Zach?"

My heart began to pound at the sound of my name. Through the crackling, I hardly heard it. But being a spy meant you picked up on anything. The voice was far away, barely a whisper in the chaos.

"Cammie?"

"Zach?"

"_Cammie!_" I began running again in the direction of the voice, deeper into the smoke. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed here, rendering my passage difficult, but not impossible. I heard coughing then stumbled into a figure that was shuffling through the wreckage. I pulled back, grabbing her arms to make sure it was who I was looking for. It was. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Cammie nodded, covering her mouth with her shirt. Any other day, I would have stared at the glimpse of exposed skin of her stomach. But not today. She took my hand and we ran.

Soon, we found ourselves yelling past the crackling to hear eachother. "Why are you still here?" I asked her loudly, my own shirt over my mouth now. My eyes were stinging, skin crawling. I kept my sight fixed on her, and our escape route. I wouldn't allow her to be put in the face of danger. Well, any more danger.

"I think I fainted from something that knocked me over the head. Or the smoke." She frowned, trying to recall what happened. Her scream and tightened grip on my hand pulled me back before the floor underneath us gave way. Only she was too late. I stumbled, falling below into the firey pit. I landed on the broken wood, suppressing a groan as I checked for Cammie. Our hands had come apart in the fall. "_Cammie!_" My eyes roamed the area, searching for her, and taking in our surrounding. Gauging the risk at hand. We were in for hell. Finally, I spotted her. She'd fallen a couple metres from me. She had a hand to her head. My mind began working at overtime. _No, no, no. _She couldn't be hurt.

"Show me." I demanded after I'd stumbled over the what had been a floor, prying her hand away. Blood. As spies, we were trained to know how to fatally wound or kill our enemies. We were trained to know how long it would take before the person's life drained from their eyes. We didn't have long.

I tore a strip of my shirt off, ignoring her protests, and wrapped it around her head. It wouldn't stop the bleeding, but it would slow it down. I grabbed her hand again and stood. "Are you okay?"

She nodded impatiently and gave me a push to indicate we should keep going. "We need to get out of here fast." Shock and awe overcame me as I watched her. She didn't bother looking around; even with an injury, she had taken everything in. Of course she would have.

But then she uttered the words that turned my blood cold. "We're trapped."

"No, we can't b-"

She shook her head, pointing left. "That will lead us to a dead end eventually." She pointed right to the burning mess. "Do I even need to explain why that's not an option?"

I ran my hands over my eyes, my mind reeling. Then both our eyes settled on the window. We exchanged a glance and approached it. I looked out. There were bushes at the bottom that would break our fall. Even if there hadn't been, it would be better to shatter a few bones than die.

We both stepped onto the ledge, fingers laced together.

"One." I said.

"Two." She squeezed my hand.

"Three."

We jumped.

* * *

Cammie's POV

I cradled my throbbing head in my hands, sitting on the edge of the first aid truck. Nurses ran around, assuaging wounds that needed assuaging, examining the extent of mental damage for those who were experiencing breakdowns, putting names to faces to determine who was missing. My head had been stitched, there was no risk of bleeding to death now. Other scratches would heal on their own. I was sure to be covered in bruises by tomorrow. A majority of the student body had undergone some sort of blow. Lots of us were wounded in one way or another. But we were so lucky to be alive.

We had lost three girls, one boy, and a Blackthorne teacher.

Out of the whole student body, the number may be considered small, but it was a number nonetheless. We had lost our own.

Bex and Liz sat down beside me, wrapping their arms around me. We stayed like that in silence for a few minutes. No words were needed to explain what we were all thinking.

Bex was the one to break the ice. "I'm so glad you're alive, Cam. We were all freaking out. We tried searching for you, but your mother forced us to keep going. She said she would look for you herself." My mother had found me afterwards, when we'd finally made it to safety. She hadn't let me go for five minutes. Abandoning her duties as a member of staff to be a worried mom. "We should have known Zach would go after you, though."

My throat clenched, but I refused to cry in front of them. I couldn't afford to be vulnerable. Not right now. We needed to stay strong for eachother.

"How bad was the fire?" Liz whispered.

"If the barriers came down, then we'll have lost only a third of the building." I said. The Academy had thought everything through for all sorts of emergencies. In the case of a fire, metal barriers came down, blocking off portions of the building from eachother. The fire had been extinguished; from what I'd seen, a large part of the Academy had remained untouched. That was good news. On the outside, the structure looked alright. Burned in places, missing windows, some blocked windows, but as a whole, it was more or less alright. I wondered what would happen to all of us now.

Parents were being withheld from retrieving their children at the moment. Until a final consensus was made, we all had to stay. All heads needed to be counted, all names registered. It was possible we had lost more than five people.

Their arms suddenly disappeared and I looked up. Zach's worried eyes met mine and my friends stood up. "We'll be nearby if you need us." Liz said gently.

Zach sat down in the spot Bex had vacated. Before he could say anything, I started speaking. "You came back for me."

His lips curled into a sad smile. "I'll always come back for you, Gallagher Girl."

* * *

A large part of the student body ended up being taken back home, but the rest of us were at loss for a location to stay in the time being. Many of the Blackthorne students returned to their Institute or their families too. Zach and Grant were among those to stay. Liz had been taken home by her parents, despite her pleas to remain with us. We all understood it would be safer for her to go, so none of us held it against her.

Those of us remaining were sent to a hotel.

That's right. A hotel. Setting foot into it was like stepping into a temporary heaven. Only the best for the most exceptional students, right? As much as I wanted to enjoy the place, the circumstances around us staying there prevented me from fully doing so. I was too on edge. A full floor was checked out purely for us all. There were several pools to compensate for the lack of beach, a golf course, a spa, and basically whatever else we could dream of. This was probably a way to make up for the rest of our ruined vacation and a way to forget what had happened.

Bex and I had room 415 to ourselves, but after inspecting the place (and making sure I would really be alright on my own), Bex had vanished. Presumably to find Grant. She mentioned she probably wouldn't be back for a little while. I sat on the edge of my bed, then went out in search of Zach. It didn't take long. He was in his own room.

"How're you feeling?" He asked tentatively after letting me in. He shut the door behind us, plunging the place into silence. Outside, students were milling about, searching for eachother among the new chaos. Some semblance of normality had been restored. I'd heard a few laughs, which was a good sign.

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He raised an eyebrow, knowing that was far from the truth, but didn't push it. "Why did you come back for me?" I finally asked. "You could have died."

He approached me, slowly, ensuring I didn't back away. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I wasn't going to leave you in there."

"But that's not a reason-" I began to protest.

"Does there need to be a perfectly reasoned argument?" He countered. I stopped to think. No. There didn't need to be. If the roles had been reversed, I would have gone back too. It wouldn't have _felt _right if I hadn't. There was no logic to it. "You were in a burning building. I didn't care if I died trying to save you, Cammie. If _you _had died, _that _is what would have mattered most to me. I'm not going to lose you again. I had to come back. I can't-"

I wrapped my arms around him tightly, cutting off his train of thought which seemed to be headed on a collision course. "Thank you."

* * *

**Boom, baby, another chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. What do you think is _really _going on here, my loves? I swear the angst and all that will be over soon, there are just a few more things I need to get out of the way. And I promise Zammie is coming shortly! (; So keep on your toes, there's some romance headed your way.**

**Do you guys enjoy reading from our beloved Zach's POV?**

**Is the fire really an accident?**

**What's coming next?**

**REVIEW! I give shout outs to those who give me wonderful responses, if that's any incentive. I love reading everything you guys say, so please tell me what you did like? It would absolutely make my day.**

**-_Ivoryyy_**


	20. You Can Run

**Hey, guys, I am soooo sorry for making you guys wait for this next chapter! I have final exams in a couple weeks so I've been busy studying. I swear once they're over (that will be in a month) I will be writing a lot more often. Just please bear with me! You guys have been amazing with all your support and encouragement, it truly means the world to me. Updating these chapters gives me such joy, and seeing the sheer amount of people who read them is staggering.**

**I also drafted and redrafted this chapter so many times, thinking of different scenes, different ways to end it, so that's another reason why this took a while. I **_**finally **_**got to the Zammie you have all wanted (this story isn't about sappiness, so there isn't an overload of it, sorry) so I hope you like this heartfelt chapter. I also made it extra long to make up for all the time I was away.**

**But, of course, if you know me, you know I love drama and action. So I refused to make this chapter just a filler with nothing but fluff. It needed to go somewhere and spur further events. So brace yourselves, my loves. You didn't really think things were about to start getting better for our favourite characters, did you?**

**Oh no. Things are about to get crazy.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**REVIEW RESPONSES (because you guys were so lovely, I picked out a few people I wanted to reply to):**

**British bombshell 4eva xxx: You made several reviews and they all made me grin. I was actually excited that you thought you had figured out what's going on since no one seems to have yet. (; I guess you're all in for a surprise, huh? I'm so glad you like the story, thank you for your reviews.**

**nadiyahill1997: As awful as this sounds, I'm stoked to hear you actually got freaked out reading the story! It means I'm doing my job right as a writer. I didn't mention Lance in the previous chapter because he wasn't really relevant in the scene, but he is still most definitely present! And as for Macey, I didn't mention her because… Well, I forgot. For some reason I always view Bex and Liz as Cammie's best friends, not so much Macey. Oops. But she's alive and well, as you will see in this chapter. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!**

**Arielle007: Your words made my heart clench in a very good way, as cheesy as that sounds. They were so lovely and kind, ah. You're wonderful. Thank you so much. **

**coloursinautumn: You know, you make me smile so much, you're officially one of my favourite people on this site. Thank goodness your email brought you back! I don't know what I would do without your supporting words. (; Bahaha, your comment about Zach ripping his shirt actually made me laugh so hard. Gotta frustrate you lovely readers and take it slow. I'm glad you enjoy the multiple POVs, I wasn't sure how I was doing. Thank you for letting me know. Lance is coming up soon. (; Patience, grasshopper. I'm just getting started.**

* * *

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, it's time to have some fun." Macey's voice broke through my sleep, forcing me awake. She also pulled off my covers, leaving me, well, in my underwear. Since we'd left the Academy without any of our belongings, basically those of us who hadn't gone on an impromptu shopping trip remained with nothing but our uniforms and our wits. Maybe not our wits, but just our uniforms.

I groaned and picked up my school shirt from the floor, pulling it over my head. Getting to sleep the night before had been a trek, what with the nightmares that constantly flooded my mind whenever I simply closed my eyes. "What are you talking about? Where's Bex?" Macey got a room to herself in the hotel, which I imagine she was pretty pleased about. It meant she got to fill it with all her things once she had things to fill it with. Spend the day with us, then retire to her own temporary paradise.

Macey hooked a finger over her shoulder, pointing to the bathroom where the water was going. "Take that off, we've got clothes." She held up a pair of jeggings, a shirt, and flats. They looked an awful lot like my mom's, but how would Macey have them?

I took them cautiously, scrutinizing them. "Where did these come from?" I took the time to process that she wasn't in her uniform too; I assumed that was because someone had sent her stuff overnight.

She began fluffing her hair in the mirror, hardly even looking at me as I changed into my fresh attire. "Your mother." So I was right. "It was sitting outside your room with this, so I brought them in." She handed me a note which said my mom was glad I was okay, to have fun, and if I needed any clothing to come find her. "Naturally, we can't have you wearing your mother's clothing all the time, so we've got a lot of shopping to do." A glance in my direction had her adding. "Or you can just borrow my clothes that fit you for the time being." I caught her approving smile in the mirror once I was fully clothed. "You look good as new, Cam."

Bex exited from the bathroom, wearing jeans and a blouse, which were clearly Macey's from the designs. "Morning, Cam. It's all yours." She gestured to the bathroom. I walked in and washed up, using the hotel's provisions of toothbrushes and toothpaste to brush my teeth. I had never truly valued what hotels supply you with until right then. Once I was finished, we headed to breakfast. It was nearly 9 in the morning, which was a later start to the day than usual, but I still felt tired. Hopefully once I got food in my system that would change.

The dining hall was a vast, cozy space. The floor length windows spilled light inside, as though welcoming us outside to enjoy all the amenities waiting for us. I took waffles with maple syrup from the buffet and orange juice. We settled at a table and the boys joined us shortly after. I couldn't help but notice Zach looked very nice in his jeans and tee. I smothered a smile as he took a seat beside me. He didn't make an attempt to take my hand or kiss me, which made sense, considering things between us hadn't been repaired yet. In all honesty, I missed him. I missed us.

"So, who's up for a swim?" Grant suggested through a mouthful of hash browns.

Macey cringed and forked her fruit salad. "Chlorine? Ew. I'll pass." Zach and Grant shared a look, as though they had expected this answer and possessed a back up plan. Being the spies we were, Macey noticed. "What? What are you two thinking?"

"Beach." Zach said with a grin on his face. "Now, before you go telling me there are no beaches around here, let me tell you there is one an hour away which we can get to if we rent a car. Easy. I heard a lot of the other students will be there, sort of a beach party. Don't tell me you hate salt water too, Macey."

She looked as us, gauging our reactions. Bex was nodding, she swallowed the strawberry she was chewing on and spoke. "I'm all in. Sounds like fun. We can check out the pool another day, so it's alright by me."

They all awaited my response. I smiled. "What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

By "renting a car", Zach meant finding the cheapest car with all the working required functions, and could fit all of us. Meaning it wasn't all that great. Necessity over comfort. Not that I was complaining. It just would have been nice if I could stretch my legs a little further instead of having them squashed against the back of the seat in front of me. Grant and Zach were in the front, Macey, Bex, and I in the back. It didn't feel right without Jonas and Liz. The whole summer we had stuck together, and now they weren't with us. Our crew wasn't a whole without them. We were just a fragment. A larger fragment, but still a fragment.

We weren't the only ones driving in the direction of the beach. We passed several cars filled with familiar faces. Each of them seemed happy, the trauma forgotten. Almost. If you looked close enough, you could see that shred of fear left in everyone's eyes. That loss at not knowing whether we would return to the Gallagher Academy. Of course we would, we had to. A fire couldn't possibly stop a school of spies. That was ridiculous. We always found a way around each curveball thrown our way.

We stopped in a large parking lot, a boardwalk just ahead of us. There were several shops we could probably go into to find some temporary clothes and swimsuits. The five of us headed in that direction. The beach wasn't deserted, but it wasn't crowded either. Groups of students had already arrived, some swimming, some laughing, some lying on their towels.

I walked past the rows of bikinis, bikinis, and endless bikinis. I picked one up, scrunching my nose. "Is there anything that's less showy?" I mused to my friends.

Macey approached me with an eye roll, taking the bikini from me to observe it. "This isn't all that 'showy'." She quipped. "I think the colour would go well with your eyes. Try it on." Of course she would be thinking of how things complemented your looks, rather than just getting a swimsuit to wear for a day. I popped into a changing room and once the swimsuit was on, peeked my head out. "Psst. Mace." I hissed. Instead Zach turned around. My cheeks heated up as I clutched the curtain to my overly exposed body, standing awkwardly behind it. "Is the fashion queen anywhere nearby?" I asked.

He was looking at me, amused at my stance, that smirk ever-present on his face. "Nope, but I am. Want my verdict?"

I contemplated my options. Realizing everyone would eventually see the swimsuit, I stepped out, shifting weight from one foot to the other. "Is it okay?"

His eyes swept over me. Actually, no, they didn't even sweep over me. They took their sweet time looking over everything. Oh god, I should have chosen to wait. But the approving grin that slowly spread on his face, that only grew once his eyes met mine, was enough to chase away my nerves. "Get it."

We paid for our stuff – swimsuits, sunscreen, towels, snacks, clothes, and some water – then finally headed for the beach. The crowd had only gotten bigger by the time we got there. My feet sunk into the warm sand as we made our way to our peers. Bex and Grant sprinted past us, dropping their belongings in a heap before rushing to the water; clearly racing eachother there. "I'm gonna beat you!" Grant shouted.

"You wish!" Was Bex's response. She let him think he was going to win, then sped up and resolved to entering the water first, ultimately winning their mini feud. Silly Grant should have known better than to think he could win when Bex was involved. Particularly when she was feeling confident about herself.

Macey lay down on her towel, slid her sunglasses on, and proceeded to work on her tan. Not like I'd expected anything else.

This left Zach and me alone. I put my stuff down and looked at him. He was looking right back at me. "Let's go for a walk."

* * *

For twenty minutes we sort of just wandered down the beach, not really speaking. Just enjoying the weather, the day, the freedom. Our crew was nearly out of sight at this point, just specks of colour on a vast expanse of sand. We then sat down, the waves washing over our legs as they slithered onto shore. Neither of us said anything for a while. I trailed a finger through the sand, making mindless patterns through it.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. I found it difficult to look at him just yet, so I didn't. His voice was tentative and hoarse. Like he wasn't quite sure how to go about apologizing to me. "I shouldn't have left you back in the Game. I should have known you better. It's my fault you were stuck in there and it's my fault everything is falling apart now."

I didn't interrupt him, knowing if I did, all it would do was aggravate him but wouldn't stop him. So I let him continue. He needed to get this out. And I needed to hear this.

"I thought I knew you well enough to be able to discern which Alice was you. I thought I knew you, but I didn't – I don't – and I hate that that's the case. I hate the fact that I don't know you as well as I should considering the time we've spent together. I let myself down. I let _you _down." He was fiddling with a shell in his hands, staring at it with such intensity I expected it to turn into dust under his gaze "I did everything with her that I would have done with you. I kissed her-"

"Zach." Now was when I interrupted. This was something I didn't need to hear. I had seen it with a mirror back when I was stuck in the Game. A mirror that allowed me to see what was going on in the real world with my friends. All it had done was put me through endless agony.

"No." He threw the shell into the waves and looked at me at last. "Don't allow me to get away with this. I don't know how you can stand to sit next to me right now." He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, over his face; all motions of fatigue. But I knew it wasn't because of lack of sleep. It was because the thought of what he had done sucked all the energy out of him. "I thought she was you. I knew there was something off, I knew she was acting abnormal for you, but in my blindness I didn't realize exactly _what _was different. And then that time you came through the portal, the real you, it still didn't hit me that we'd taken the wrong person from the Game.

"When we all knew the truth, when we came back to that house… I can't explain how it felt seeing you. Seeing you with Lance." He closed his eyes, a pained scowl creasing his forehead. "For a second, a second I regret, I thought maybe you were better off with him. You seemed happier with him than you would be with me after what I'd done. You were so ready to stay – stay with him – and that's my fault. I thought we'd ridded ourselves of him after getting out of there. But now he's back, I don't know why or for how long, and I'm afraid he won't leave until he sees everything in ruins."

I was shocked to learn Zach was actually… _Jealous _of Lance. Jealous. Of all the things, of all the people. But then after thinking about it for a few moments, I understood why. I hadn't wanted to leave. Lance hadn't hurt me during my stay with him. In fact, we'd had fun. He'd provided me with whatever I wanted and more. He'd let me sleep when I was tired. He'd let me roam around the house whenever I pleased. He'd let me cry if I needed to. He'd fed me. The only pain I suffered was knowing my friends had left me behind and had continued their lives without me. None of that pain had been directly caused by Lance. And so when my friends had finally come to their great rescue, a rescue I wasn't willing to accept at the time, I had pleaded with Lance for him to let me stay. Stay where I felt safe. Where I wasn't surrounded by backstabbers.

That also led to another realization. We couldn't blame Lance for everything we had been through this summer. _We _had chosen to play the Game. He hadn't put the box in our hands and demanded we play it. Even if he had planted the box in our room, it was still up to us whether or not we played it. It was our decision that led us to him. Rules were rules. We had to play. We had ended up there by our own doing.

And that led me to my confusion. Why was I defending Lance? He had watched us suffer so many horrible things, and yet, I couldn't hate him for it. Not after getting to know him (yeah, he was a creep, but underneath the creep was some semblance of a human being or whatever he was). Not when he had been the only one there for me. Hell, even during the Game I had kissed him. _To gain a clue_. But I had still felt something. Disgust, sure. Disgust at what I was doing. But not exactly disgust with him. If I told my friends this, they would probably send me to a loony bin.

"He told me what's happening is my fault." Zach's words snapped me back into focus.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly. But I had a bad feeling I knew what he was talking about.

"The people dying. The fire. He told me the fabric between our universes is thinning." He looked at me, the fear plain on his face. Just as was the guilt. The guilt I knew no amount of words or consolation would assuage. It would stay with him until he managed to forgive himself. Which wasn't something Zach was very capable of. If he felt he didn't merit forgiveness, he wouldn't grant it. That much I knew.

Lance was many things. Foul. Manipulative. Sarcastic. Impatient. But never a liar. Oh no. He relished in the pain truth caused. Less so with me, but nonetheless it was in his nature. Therefore, what he had said was far from a lie. This was happening because of something Zach had done. If this was just the beginning, what was going to come next? How much worse could things get? People were _dying_. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

"Cammie, I am so sorry." He said shaking his head. "Everything bad that's happened to you, to all of us, it's because of m-"

I did the only thing I could think to do that would shut him up. I grabbed his face in my hands and pressed my lips against his. He was surprised at first and didn't respond, but then he relaxed. He pulled me to him desperately, over his wet legs so I was straddling them. My hands trailed down to rest on his firm shoulders, the tension easing under my touch. I pulled back briefly to look him in the eyes and say, "I forgive you."

He gazed at me, searching for the truth in my eyes. When it was clear I had meant what I said, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "I'm not letting you go again, Gallagher Girl. No matter what happens, I will always come back for you. I will not put you through that again, I swear."

"Don't make me any promises." I said gently. "Just stay with me. Just be with me here. Now. I don't need you to promise me anything else. I don't need you to promise me the future. I just need now."

Zach didn't seem conent with what I'd said, but we both knew how hard it was to keep promises. Especially promises when you told a person you would always be there, that you could always count on them. So many unexpected things happened every day, it was difficult to stay true to promises like that. We both knew after what had happened that he shouldn't make those kinds of promises. The Game had changed everything for us. We were all still crawling out of the wreckage, trying to get our lives back together.

So instead, he kissed me again. He gathered me in his arms and picked me up; I locked my legs behind him, mouth moving against his deeply. The distance that had separated us for so long crumbled and now we connected more than we had before. His fingers began moving to the back of my bikini, but I moved his hand away with a sneaky grin. "Down boy. You haven't gained access to my Wonderland just yet."

"I can respect that." He whispered, pecking my lips. He tasted of salt and heat and Twizzlers and Zach. It made me heady. His hand gripped the back of my head, tangling through my hair. I knew just from the way he was holding me that he would try to stay true to the promise he'd made. That he wouldn't let me slip away again.

Coherent thought was hard to formulate right then, what with all my senses screaming _Zach Zach Zach Zach Zach_, my brain was a total mess. A very good kind of mess though. But as his hands roamed my bare skin and his lips ravaged mine, I began to wonder what the feeling kindling inside of me was. The thought of him sent this fluttery feeling through me, a feeling I couldn't possibly find the words to express, and I wondered if that was what love was. I could fall in love with this boy. I could fall in love with him if I hadn't fallen already.

A big wave came crashing down and he lost his footing, falling down into them. A shocked gasp escaped my mouth as I was unexpectedly soaked, but when we looked at eachother we both erupted into peals of laughter.

We were back on track. At last.

* * *

"I see the lovebirds have finally reconciled." Macey commented with a sly smirk as we approached, her sunglasses raised over her head as though she needed her own eyes to register what she was seeing. Zach's and my fingers were twined together as we walked back up the beach to where our friends were sitting. Bex and Grant were building a sand castle and glanced up at us, taking in the scene.

"It's about bloody time." Bex added. "You two are so infuriating when you're mad at eachother." Macey smacked her arm, an indicator that she'd crossed a line, but Bex just turned on her. "What? You know it's true."

Macey rolled her eyes and put her sunglasses back on. "We're happy for you two. Just please don't do that to us again."

"And how is our relationship your issue, exactly?" Zach speculated as we sat down.

Grant, Bex, and Macey looked at him as if he were an idiot. "As your friends, dearest Zachary, we are caught in the middle of the crossfire." Macey took it upon her shoulders to explain, somewhat condescendingly since the question had really been silly. "It's not exactly easy to watch both of you mope and have to take sides, whilst simultaneously not taking sides."

Zach looked stumped.

Macey exhaled heavily. "You're hopeless. Bex. Help."

"Cammie is our best friend. So we would naturally choose Cammie over you. Sorry." Bex didn't really seem sorry. "We had to hate you with her, but we didn't really hate you. She just needed to believe everyone despises you as much as she did. We all knew you would get back together in the end, so we needed to still be on good terms with you. Somehow navigate between you and Cammie, without making things any more awkward than it was."

Zach nodded slowly. "Right." He slung his arm around me and pulled me close. "Well, there's no need to keep up pretenses anymore. Gallagher Girl and I are A-okay."

"Halle-freaking-lujah." Macey grumbled, laying back down.

The next few hours passed in a blur. We swam more, talked while drying off, ate our snacks, had lunch on the boardwalk, tried on some more clothes (Macey insisted), and really just had fun. Fun we all needed. The vacation hadn't exactly gone as planned, this day had been long overdue. This time we were all really together, all living in the moment without thinking about the future.

The illusion of peace shattered pretty quickly.

Darkness fell, but none of us left. The population on the beach had halved, but those who had remained set up bonfires to roast marshmallows on and make smores. We had our own fire going while we continued to build our now enormous sandcastle that also had a moat around it. We really went all out. Go big or go home, right?

My phone started ringing and I leaned over to my towel to pick it up. "Hello?" I clamped the phone between my ear and shoulder since my hands were all sandy.

"Cammie?" Static broke up the voice, but it was still clear who was on the other end. Liz. A very scared, very panicked Liz.

I frowned, suddenly worried. "Liz, what's going on?" The other faces turned to look at me, catching on to my tone.

"...Car... Need... Explain..."

"What was that? Liz, I can't hear you, say that again."

"…Figured out…. Going on…. Can…. Hear me…?"

"Liz?" My voice raised, as though being louder would somehow carry my voice to her better. "Liz, where are you?"

"...Coming… Storm here… Bad… Tornado… Be there soon…."

"You're coming here?" I repeated, not quite sure if that's what she'd meant. Bex was mouthing to me to tell them what was going on. But how could I explain this phone call when I wasn't entirely certain myself what was happening? "What the heck are you talking about? What tornado? There's a tornado over there?" I exclaimed.

"Yes…!" Liz's exasperated voice responded. I wasn't sure which question she had just answered, but either one of them receiving a yes set off loud alarms in my head. "Jonas… Calm down… Driving there… Conditions… Treacherous… Dangerous… But not compared… What's coming…"

My stomach dropped. "Liz, find safety." I urged her. I stared at Grant as he refined the edges of the castle with Macey. The others had gotten back to work, knowing I would recount every detail to them afterwards. Zach was staring at me though, concerned. "Liz, don't come here if it's so dangerous."

"Freaking… Tornado… Where else… Safe…?"

I gnawed on my lip, the fire suddenly feeling far too hot. This was bad. Really bad. Liz and Jonas were coming here, in the middle of a tornado apparently, because it wasn't safe regardless of where they were. And Jonas was having what appeared to be a panic attack. At least, that's what I gathered through the static.

I told her the address of the hotel and the room number we were staying in. Hopefully she heard it, otherwise she would end up searching for us aimlessly and the trip would have been a waste. And she would have put their lives in peril.

"…It's… Not over…" Liz was saying.

Bex inserted a leaf on top of the castle.

"Liz, I can't hear you." I groaned. "Tell me everything when you're here, you're really freaking me out. Just please drive safely."

"Need… Stop this before… Too late… Or else… All die…"

The line went dead.

"What was that about?" Zach asked.

I looked at him. "I have no idea, but it can't be good. Liz knows something. But she's in danger. With Jonas. They're coming here to tell us what they've discovered…" My voice trailed off once a laugh sounded a few bonfires over. It was a Blackthorne student. He had dark hair, his eyes flickering in the flames as he stared at a girl across from the fire, listening to her intently. He wasn't familiar to me, but he certainly reminded me of someone I was familiar with. I stood up, knowing what I had to do. "I'll be right back." I mumbled.

"Cammie?" Zach began to follow but I shook my head, insisting this was something I needed to do myself.

I wandered along the beach, searching each bonfire, but with no luck. He was nowhere to be found. What was it about him? When he was unwanted, he was there, he wouldn't let you out of his sight. But when you needed him, he vanished into thin air.

I headed underneath the boardwalk, far from the safety the fires offered. I could still see my friends in the distance. Grant and Bex were jumping around the sand castle. Waves lapped and licked my feet, black, lurking tongues tasting those who dared stray too close. A breeze caressed my skin, raising goosebumps along my arms. A cold hand touched me from out of nowhere.

I jumped, startled, and turned to face him. Lance was all dressed in black, despite the heat that had been weighing down all day.

"Why are you here?" I demanded. My voice didn't sound as firm as I wanted it to sound. I didn't sound as confident as I'd hoped. Not when I was facing the person who had sheltered me, given me everything I needed. But the question was one we all needed an answer to. What was happening was bigger than all of us. Lance being here was a pretty good indicator that we'd gone wrong somewhere along the way. But where? And how could we fix it? He couldn't just be here to torment us. Although it wouldn't be surprising, it seemed unnecessary and dull stalking a bunch of teenagers.

"Enjoying a splendid day at the beach, like all of you." He smirked, knowing fully well that wasn't what my question implied.

I leaned in closer, lowering my voice. "We did everything you asked us to do, you shouldn't even _be_ _here_ right now. We finished playing your game long ago."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh, love, you're nowhere near finished. You think the Game is over?" He clicked his tongue, faking mock disappointment. He walked around me slowly, taking his time. He knew I wasn't going anywhere. I wanted an explanation.

Bex was pushing Grant away from the sand castle now, what was he trying to do?

"You're nowhere near finished." Lance's grin, that Cheshire Cat grin flashed in the night. He approached me. So close. Too close. "You know what I enjoy most about this world? You think things are impossible. You think you're safe." His breath was cold on my neck. I tried not to shiver. "But you know that's not true. Nothing's impossible. And that's why you humans are so easy to scare. Present you with the impossible and you scurry away like rats seeking shelter." He chuckled. "You can't hide from what's coming." His icy fingers stroked my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut. I wouldn't let him get to me. I wouldn't let him get to my head. "Are you scared?" He whispered, his catching the wind, hissing as it was carried away. I opened my eyes. He was gone.

In the distance, Bex hadn't managed to withhold Grant and his foot connected with the castle that had taken painstaking hours to create. One motion and it all came toppling down into nothing.

* * *

**I'm actually scared to go to bed now after this chapter. Jesus. I think I need a night light.**

_Chapter question (hint hint, review)_:What are YOU most scared of? Doesn't have to be a thing or an animal. Can be a feeling or a thought or a person.

**I'm scared of spiders and darkness. I mean real darkness, when you're surrounded by suffocating pitch-blackness and your mind is free to realize all your nightmares. Or darkness of the ocean. I get terrified when I'm swimming in real depths and can't see what's underneath me, so I imagine all these horrible things lurking- okay, I'm really frightened now, time to stop talking.**

**I haven't done this since I stopped writing, but since I'm just absolutely cruel, I want **_**FIVE REVIEWS **_**(not just saying "update" please) before I update. If you guys do that I may just update quicker than you'd expect. **

**Tell me what you liked, what you thought could be better, the answer to my question, or any hypotheses you have as to what's actually going on.**

**Five good reviews = next chapter.**

**A storm is coming, my darlings. You can run from it, but you can't hide.**

**-Ivoryyy.**


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